Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Sugar Beet: Floods

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support sugar beet growers in areas affected by flooding.

Mark Spencer: The Government recognises that growing sugar beet is important for many farmers in central and eastern England, where the crop plays a vital role in the arable farm rotation, allowing a season of “rest” from intensive cereal production. We also appreciate that the effects of variable weather conditions upon cash flow, yields and outcomes must be considered in both the short and longer term, and we therefore continue to engage closely with the arable sector. It is too early to understand the exact impact of the recent flooding on the yield and quality of sugar beet still to be harvested or being stored in clamps. Farmers may need to manage their harvest in order to prevent soil damage. Defra officials are in regular contact with producers and processors in the UK sugar industry to understand the situation as more information becomes available.

Pesticides: Manufacturing Industries

Sir Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the support available for the biopesticide industry.

Mark Spencer: Biopesticide applicants in the UK are supported via the Biopesticide Scheme. Support provided through the scheme includes dedicated Health & Safety Executive (HSE) biopesticide champions, free pre-submission advice, and capped fees for biopesticide active substance approval. We are considering where approvals and permissions for biopesticides might be made simpler and faster without compromising the environment or human health standards. This would aim to reduce the burden for manufacturers and bring more biopesticides to the market.

Cannabidiol

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) the Food Standards Agency and (b) its advisory committees on its guidance on the acceptable daily intake of cannabidiol (CBD) for consumers, published on 12 October 2023.

Mark Spencer: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the Government’s arm’s-length bodies, including the Food Standards Agency, on a range of issues.

Restoration and Renewal Client Board

Palace of Westminster: Repairs and Maintenance

Catherine West: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Restoration and Renewal Client Board, what steps the Board is taking to promote gender equality in the Parliamentary Restoration and Renewal team.

Catherine West: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Restoration and Renewal Client Board, what steps the Board is taking to promote gender equality among engineers in the Parliamentary Restoration and Renewal team.

Sir Charles Walker: The R&R Programme is committed to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion so people from all backgrounds can thrive working on the programme. The R&R Delivery Authority currently employs 56% female and 44% male employees. The proportion of females in leadership positions is 40%.Although the main construction works are still set to be some years away, the R&R Delivery Authority is establishing or exploring relationships with skills and training providers across the whole of the UK that support initiatives to promote women in the construction industry. The Programme also actively supports a number of awareness initiatives that encourage women into construction and engineering.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Gaza: International Assistance

Andrew Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to appoint a Special Coordinator for international aid to Gaza.

David Rutley: The UK is committed to easing the desperate and deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, while standing alongside the people of Israel against the terrorist group Hamas and supporting Israel's right to defend itself. Our support includes a £30m humanitarian aid package as well as intensive diplomatic efforts led by the Prime Minister, the former Foreign Secretary and the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, to prevent regional escalation. At present, humanitarian access into Gaza is limited to the Rafah check point from Egypt. Between 1 and 2 November, Lord Ahmad visited the region where he advocated for immediate humanitarian pauses to help aid reach Gaza and for British nationals to leave Gaza. He also stressed the importance of preventing regional escalation and outlined steps towards a political resolution which provides justice and security to both Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel: Palestinians

Andrew Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the military detention of Palestinian children.

David Rutley: Our focus right now is getting humanitarian aid into Gaza. The most recent assessment of the United Nations is that the entire population of Gaza, some 2.2 million people, need access to safe drinking water and food. Since 7 October, the UK Government has announced an additional £30 million of humanitarian funding and sent more than 51 tonnes of emergency relief for civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). This funding will support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and other trusted partners to respond to critical food, water, health, shelter and protection needs in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary will continue to engage regularly and closely with his Israeli counterparts to press for humanitarian access to ensure the delivery of aid in the volume needed. The UK position is also clear: all sides must abide by their international obligations and all sides must respect International Humanitarian Law. Both the Prime Minister and the former Foreign Secretary have, in their discussions with Israeli counterparts, emphasised the importance of taking all possible measures to protect civilians.

Russia: Assets

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with (a) his international counterparts and (b) Cabinet colleagues on proposals to repurpose Russian state assets since 27 June 2023.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Government remains committed to ensuring Russia pays for the long-term reconstruction of Ukraine. Working with relevant Departments, we are continuing to pursue all lawful routes to make Russian assets available to support Ukraine's reconstruction. G7 Leaders have made clear that sovereign assets will remain immobilised until Russia pays for the damage it has caused Ukraine. We continue to work closely with our international partners to share experience and expertise.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Andrew Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing his Department's humanitarian funding to Gaza.

David Rutley: The UK remains committed to respond to the humanitarian situation in Gaza including both parties to respect International Humanitarian Law and minimise the impact on civilian casualties. Since 7 October, the UK Government has announced an additional £30 million of humanitarian aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) and sent more than 51 tonnes of emergency relief. This funding will support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and other trusted partners to respond to critical food, water, health, shelter and protection needs in Gaza. The UK is continuously assessing needs and advocating for access routes to be established into Gaza, for sufficient levels of humanitarian assistance to flow into Gaza and for humanitarian pauses to allow aid to be distributed within Gaza.There is a robust framework in place for allocating Official Development Assistance (ODA), in accordance with UK strategic priorities against a challenging financial climate. Data on ODA spend in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is available on DevTracker and also in our Country Development Partnership Summary (https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/countries/PS). More than 80% of our ODA spend this year of UK support will be used to meet humanitarian need, or to provide vital health, education, and protection services for Palestinian Refugees.

Israel: British Nationals Abroad

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of British nationals that have requested consular assistance from the (a) British Embassy in Tel Aviv and (b) British Consulate General in Jerusalem since 7 October 2023.

David Rutley: We do not comment on the specific numbers of British citizens within Israel or the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) in order to protect ongoing operations in what is a fast-moving situation. The safety of all British nationals continues to be our utmost priority and we are doing everything we can to support all British nationals in Israel and the OPTs and are working closely with Israeli counterparts and international partners.

Afghanistan: Refugees

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme principals his Department has wrongly assessed as eligible.

Leo Docherty: Under the first stage of ACRS Pathway 3, the FCDO have made assessments against the eligibility criteria as set out on gov.uk. In a small number of cases where an individual has been assessed as eligible in principle for resettlement, eligibility has subsequently been withdrawn. This is where we have received additional information, either from the individual or in the case of British Council or Gardaworld contractors from their relevant employer and the FCDO has assessed that the individual no longer meets the eligibility criteria or did not meet them in the first instance.We will provide more detail on ACRS Pathway 3 numbers once we have completed processing all expressions of interest and have assured data.

Belt and Road Initiative: International Cooperation

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his international counterparts on the implications for their policies of the Belt and Road initiative.

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department's strategy is on engaging with countries involved in the Belt and Road initiative.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: China is an important source of investment for many developing countries. Chinese investment, including under its Belt and Road Initiative, can help fill the global infrastructure gap. However, we recognise the potential risks that Chinese overseas investment can present, including on debt sustainability and linkages to increasing China's economic and political influence. We will work with others to encourage China to make contributions to economic development that are transparent and push back against Chinese attempts to coerce or create dependencies when needed. Through British Investment Partnerships, we help build transparent economic partnerships, enabling high quality investment into developing countries and helping to bridge investment and infrastructure gaps.

Jimmy Lai

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, when he last held discussions with his Chinese counterpart on the case of Jimmy Lai.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The former Foreign Secretary raised Mr Lai's case with his counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as well as Vice President Han Zheng on 31 August during his visit to China. Senior officials have and will continue to raise cases such as Mr Lai's with the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities, most recently on 2 November with the Deputy Justice Secretary. We also continue to press for consular access to Mr Lai and diplomats at our Consulate-General in Hong Kong attend Mr Lai's court proceedings.

Rwanda: Human Rights

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report “Join Us or Die”: Rwanda’s Extraterritorial Repression, published by Human Rights Watch in October 2023; and whether he has had discussions with (a) the Home Secretary and (b) other Cabinet colleagues on the issues raised in that report.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Where we have concerns about the restrictions on political opposition, civil society and media freedom, we regularly express these to the Rwandan government. Most recently, I discussed these issues during my visit to Kigali in late August.

Cyprus: France

Giles Watling: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) his French counterpart on France's defence cooperation agreement with Southern Cyprus and use of the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base and (b) President Tatar of Northern Cyprus on a potential defence agreement between the UK and Northern Cyprus.

Leo Docherty: While our bilateral military cooperation is strong, the Foreign Secretary has not recently discussed France's defence cooperation agreement with Cyprus with his French counterpart. In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. The UK recognises the Republic of Cyprus as the sovereign authority of Cyprus and has no intention of discussing a potential defence agreement with the Turkish Cypriot administration.

Muslim Brotherhood

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress has been made to further detail and quantify the role, motivations and aims of the Muslim Brotherhood, since the publication of the Sir Jenkins Review.

David Rutley: In December 2015, the Government laid the main findings of an internal review commissioned to improve understanding of the Muslim Brotherhood before both Houses. The review was written by Sir John Jenkins of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Sir Charles Farr of the Home Office, and involved wide consultation, including with Muslim Brotherhood representatives in the UK and overseas, and substantial research. We stand by the main findings of the review, but continue to keep the Muslim Brotherhood and its activities under review, working across the range of relevant government departments and drawing on our network of posts in the region.

HIV Infection: Health Services

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential steps the Government can take to support (a) new (i) prevention methods, (ii) vaccines and (iii) point-of-care diagnostics and (b) other areas of research and innovation related to global HIV interventions.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: FCDO supports research and market shaping initiatives into new, innovative HIV commodities to improve their development, access and affordability. We have invested around £400 million in innovative research through our Product Development Partnerships, and our commitments to MedAccess, Unitaid and CHAI support access to innovations. For example, FCDO funding for the International Partnership on Microbicides supported the development the dapivirine ring, the first long-acting HIV prevention product to help address women's unmet need for new methods of HIV-prevention. Furthermore, our catalytic funding to MedAccess- an innovative social financing company for healthcare products- has led to the development of HIV-syphillis dual tests, and to securing HIV self-tests at a historic price of $1.

HIV Infection: Health Services

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the ways in which the Government can leverage its diplomatic relationships to (a) advocate for increased global funding for HIV programs and (b) encourage other countries to prioritise the HIV/AIDS agenda.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK was proud to play a strong role with our international partners in shaping the progressive and ambitious new Global AIDS Strategy 2021-26 and subsequent UN Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS. Adequate and sustainable financing and strong political will at every level is critical to the global community's ability to achieve these goals. The UK will continue to advocate for funding for HIV programmes and political prioritisation of the HIV/AIDS agenda at international and national levels. UK investments in organisations, such as the Global Fund , for UNAIDS, Unitaid and the Robert Carr Fund, support these diplomatic interventions and help countries to implement actions under the political declaration to prevent new HIV infections and stop AIDS related deaths.

Development Aid: Gender Based Violence and Poverty

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance has been allocated to projects related to (a) poverty reduction and (b) ending violence against women and girls in each of the last four years.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: (a) It is not possible to identify all UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocated to projects related to poverty reduction from information FCDO holds. Expenditure on development assistance (as defined in the International Development Act 2002) requires Ministers to be satisfied that the assistance is likely to contribute to a reduction in poverty. There is no express requirement for consideration of a reduction in poverty for expenditure on humanitarian assistance, though in many cases humanitarian assistance may also contribute to poverty reduction.Table 1 sets out total FCDO ODA spend and the amount spent on humanitarian assistance from 2019 - 2022. This is likely to be an underestimate of all UK ODA allocated to projects related to poverty reduction as it doesn't include any relevant ODA spend by other government departments.Table 1: Estimated FCDO ODA spent on poverty reduction (£thousand) 2019202020212022Total FCDO ODA11,785,19010,663,0108,174,8857,634,908of which: ODA to humanitarian sector1,526,1361,523,982737,2721,086,403Source: Statistics on International Development(b)Ending violence against women and girls overseas remains a top priority for the Government. Table 2 shows UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend on tackling violence against women and girls. This is likely to be an underestimate as some humanitarian and other sectoral programmes also work to prevent and respond to violence but are not captured in these figures.Table 2: UK ODA to Sector Code 15180: Ending violence against women and girls, 2019 - 2022 (£ thousands) 2019202020212022UK bilateral ODA to sector code 1518047,09635,55627,57275,106Imputed UK share of multilateral Net ODA to sector code 1518021,82919,21524,647Data not yet available

HIV Infection: Discrimination

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help tackle (a) stigma and (b) discrimination against people living with HIV at an international level.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Addressing stigma and discrimination and ensuring equality of access to HIV prevention, testing and treatment services is critical to the global HIV response. The UK is a champion for human rights.At the UN High Level Meeting on HIV in June 2021, the UK worked hard to secure the highest level of commitment from our global partners and garner support for the ambitious, rights-based Global AIDS Strategy 2021-2026, so the world has the best chance of meeting the 2030 goal to end AIDS. We also endorse the Global Fund's 2023-2028 Strategy, which includes a focus on addressing inequities and structural drivers of HIV infection and AIDS-related deaths including barriers to services due to stigma, discrimination and criminalisation.Our funding to the Robert Carr Fund, UNAIDS and the Global Fund helps to support legal and policy reform to combat stigma and discrimination and to improve access to HIV services for those most at risk, as well as supporting civil society and grassroots organisations to challenge harmful policies and attitudes that exclude minorities and put them at greater risk of HIV infection and increase access to services for these groups, including LGBT+ people.

HIV Infection: Health Services

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to collaborate with international partners to (i) strengthen international health systems and (ii) help ensure that HIV (A) prevention, (B) testing and (C) treatment services are integrated into primary healthcare structures around the world.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Health systems strengthening is key to the UK's long-term approach to protecting and promoting good health, including HIV prevention and response. The UK will focus on integrating essential services, including HIV services, through improved primary health care that includes public health functions, quality of care, rights and equity, including for women with HIV who have some of the highest maternal death rates.Furthermore, our Ending Preventable Deaths paper recognises the important contribution of global health institutions such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and outlines ways we will engage with our partners to ensure a strong, integrated approach that will support the entire health system and primary health care- including integrating HIV services.

Women: HIV Infection

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to promote (a) gender equality and (b) women's empowerment for women suffering from HIV.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are committed to driving progress and demonstrating leadership on gender equality and women's empowerment, including for women living with HIV, on the global stage. In April 2023, the UK convened member states, civil society, UN agencies and grassroots organisations at Wilton Park to bolster support for and resist rollback on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) at the national, regional and global level. In May 2023, the UK joined other G7 leaders in re-asserting the critical role of comprehensive SRHR, including HIV services for women, in our efforts to achieve gender equality.Our political action on this is also supported by our programming investments. For example, 60 per cent of the Global Fund's spending is specifically targeted to programs for women and girls and about one-third of Global Fund investments directly benefits SRHR. Our Women's Integrated Sexual Health programme delivers integrated sexual and reproductive health services, including HIV services, across 17 countries in in sub-Saharan Africa. Up to £200 million will also be delivered towards the WISH Dividend women's sexual health programme focussed on sub-Saharan Africa, which has the highest rates of fertility, child marriage and maternal mortality in the world. The Dividend programme will reach up to 10.4 million women, including women with HIV.

Development Aid: HIV Infection

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department are taking to provide funding for global initiatives focused on HIV prevention, treatment and research in (a) low-income and (b) high-burden countries.

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to share best practice in HIV (a) prevention, (b) treatment and (c) capacity building with other countries.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK remains a global leader in the HIV response. We continue to fund and work with all our key global partners to pursue global initiatives and share best practice, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, WHO, Unitaid, UNAIDS and others such as the Global Financing Facility, and continue to support stronger health systems worldwide which help end AIDS-related deaths and prevent new HIV infections, particularly in low-income and high-burden countries.The UK's investments, including to the WHO, help to ensure that people at high risk of HIV in the global south can access Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis and other HIV prevention and treatment services, to reduce their risk of infection. WHO has recently published new guidelines on HIV, STI and viral hepatitis prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations, which will support countries and local organisations in designing and implementing their HIV strategies and interventions.

Hamas: Israel

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts at the UN on the potential merits of calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

David Rutley: The UK has consistently called for humanitarian pauses to create the space to ensure that there is unhindered humanitarian access for aid to be delivered and hostages to be released. Four hour pauses in northern Gaza are an important first step. Since the Hamas terrorist attacks on 7 October, the Prime Minister, former Foreign Secretary and Lord (Tariq) Ahmad as Minister of State for the Middle East, have spoken with counterparts from over 20 countries as part of extensive diplomatic efforts to sustain the prospect of peace and stability in the Middle East. As the Prime Minister has said, there is no scenario where Hamas can be allowed to control Gaza again. They are not partners for peace.

British Overseas Territories: Companies

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 14 December 2020 on Publicly accessible registers of company beneficial ownership in the UK Overseas Territories, HCWS643, whether he plans to review his decision not to lay the Order in Council prepared by the Secretary of State to comply with the requirement under section 51 of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018.

David Rutley: We continue to keep the Order in Council under review and continue to work with the Governments of the Overseas Territories to implement publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: India

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's publication of ministerial travel data for April to June 2023, how much of the published £12,852.44 cost of his trip to New Delhi from 28 February to 3 March was made up of his (a) share of the £157,888.17 cost of the flights for that trip, (b) accommodation and (c) meals and other expenses.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's publication of ministerial travel data for April to June 2023, how much of the published £12,149.46 cost of his trip to Washington DC from 17 to 19 January was made up of his (a) share of the £178,761.86 cost of the flights for that trip, (b) accommodation and (c) meals and other expenses.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's publication of ministerial travel data for April to June 2023, how much of the published £22,860.38 cost of his trip to the Caribbean and Latin America from 17 to 25 May was made up of his (a) share of the £422,747.50 cost of the flights for that trip, (b) accommodation and (c) meals and other expenses.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's publication of ministerial travel data for April to June 2023, how much of the published £38,555.99 cost of his trip to Japan, the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Indonesia from 15 to 22 April was made up of his (a) share of the £561,531.04 cost of the flights for that trip, (b) accommodation and (c) meals and other expenses.

David Rutley: Overall figures of government spend are regularly published as part of transparency releases. These figures could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.Foreign travel is a vital part of diplomacy. It is in the national interest that the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers travel abroad to pursue UK interests. Value for money is taken into account in all travel decisions.

Ministry of Justice

Miscarriages of Justice: Compensation

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take legislative steps to issue automatic compensation payments to individuals wrongly convicted of serious crimes.

Laura Farris: There are no plans to amend section 133(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 to introduce automatic payments of compensation following a qualifying miscarriage of justice. The statutory scheme sets out the eligibility criteria which must be met before an assessment of the amount of compensation can be made.On 06 August 2023, the Lord Chancellor announced that wrongly convicted people will no longer face having “saved living costs” deducted from compensation for a miscarriage of justice. The Miscarriages of Justice Compensation Scheme guidance has been updated with immediate effect to reflect that change.

Prison Officers: Dismissal

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers were dismissed from employment for what reasons in the last 12 months.

Edward Argar: The HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly publication covers staffing information, including the number of leavers by reason for leaving by grade. The latest publication covers data up to 30 September 2023. The figures requested can be found in Table 14b of this publication and have been reproduced below:Table 1: Band 3-5 Prison Officer dismissals by reason in the 12 months to September 2023Reason for leavingHeadcountDismissal – Unsatisfactory attendance/Medical Inefficiency*360Dismissal – Conduct97Dismissal – Poor performance4Dismissal Other4Total465*‘Medical Inefficiency’ is a technical term which has been used to ensure the terminology in this response is aligned with the definitions used in published workforce statistics.Notes to Table 1:Band 3-5 Prison Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officer and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.Figures relating to current financial year are provisional, and may be subject to change in future.As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time, to ensure consistency of reporting. However the database itself is dynamic and where updates to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract, these updates will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this reason, HR data are unlikely to be precisely accurate.

Ministry of Justice: Civil Servants

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference the 7,070 total headcount figure for permanent civil servants excluding agency workers working for his Department as of 31 March 2023, as detailed in Cabinet Office statistics entitled Permanent and temporary civil servants by sex, age band and department: 2023, published on 31 October 2023, what that figure was on 31 March (a) 2011, (b) 2016 and (c) 2020.

Mike Freer: Headcount of Permanent and Temporary Civil Servants in Ministry of Justice (MOJ) HQ as at 31 March 2023, 2020, 2016 and 2011.On Strength Payroll Staff OnlyYearPermanentTemporaryTotal20237070607130202044307045002016283035286520114585904675Notes1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5 to align with published statistics.2. Workforce numbers cannot be directly compared across the timepoints provided due to the significant structural changes that have occurred in Ministry of Justice (MOJ) HQ over this time period.3. Overall headcount figures for 2011 and 2016 may differ from published figures. This is partly due to individuals on secondment being included as part of the overall headcount figures in published statistics for 2011 and 2016. Individuals on secondment have been excluded from the figures provided here to ensure consistency with the other time points presented in the table.4. Additionally, the published figures from 2011 used a different methodology to identify individuals who have left MOJ than was used in previous years. This leavers methodology has been used to calculate the 2011 figures provided here for consistency with the published figures but will differ slightly from the method used in the remainder of the table.5. Temporary civil servants are those on fixed term contracts of less than 12 months.

Prisons: Staff

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department issues on the rights of staff being compulsorily transferred to a new provider under the Prisoner Education Service procurement process to remain as a member of the public sector pensions scheme.

Edward Argar: The pension protection for staff, who are currently members of a public sector pension scheme, and who may be compulsorily transferred, is subject to HM Treasury’s (HMT) review of the New Fair Deal guidance as set out in the Invitation to Tender ITT 7790 PES (Core Education) Contract Notice Prisoner Education Services Panel (Inc. Core Education) - Find a Tender (find-tender.service.gov.uk). The Secretary of State for Justice, will act in accordance with HMT position and any updated guidance issued, as set out in the Invitation to Tender.

Parole Board

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to make all parole board hearings available to the public.

Edward Argar: Any Parole Board hearing may be heard in public if the Chair of the Parole Board decides it is in the interests of justice to do so. Applications for public hearings can be made by anyone directly to the Parole Board. The criteria used by the Chair to decide public hearing applications has been published by the Parole Board on its website and the individual decisions are also published. Not all cases will be suitable to be heard in public due, for example, to particularly sensitive evidence or the concerns of the victims, and the government believes it is right that the Parole Board has the discretion to decide which cases should be heard in public.

Probation Service: Contracts

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answers of 25 October 2023 to Question 203245 on Probation Service: Red Snapper Recruitment and 26 October 2023 to Question 203246 on Probation Service: Service Care Solutions, how many temporary (a) probation and (b) probation service officers were assigned to roles within the Probation Service other than those provided under the terms of the contracts with Red Snapper and Service Care Solutions in the period between 1 June 2022 to 18 October 2023.

Edward Argar: In order to confirm that no staff were assigned to roles other than those provided under the terms of the contracts with Red Snapper and Service Care Solutions, it would be necessary to make detailed enquiries at local level across England and Wales, and this could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.

Probation Service: Contracts

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answers of 25 October 2023 to Question 203245 on Probation Service: Red Snapper Recruitment and 26 October 2023 to Question 203246 on Probation Service: Service Care Solutions, for what reason there is a difference between the pro rata levels of payment specified in those answers of £2,357.69 per month worked by staff provided under the Red Snapper contract and £112.24 per hour worked by staff provided under the Service Care Solutions contract.

Edward Argar: We are unable to provide a reason for the difference in the pro rata levels of payments specified in the above question as:The values specified in your question are not the pro rata level of payment for either of the suppliers.The figures provided within our response to your question 203245 regarding Red Snapper and question 203246 regarding Service Care Solutions were:o The total payments made to the suppliers between May 2022 and October 2023o The average number of hours worked per week (Service Care Solutions)o The number of months worked during the period (Red Snapper)

Prisons: Locks and Keys

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons have been re-locked since 2015; how much was spent on each re-locking process; and for what reason each prison required re-locking.

Edward Argar: The table below shows which prisons have been re-locked since 2015, the amount spent on each re-locking occurrence and the reason(s) the re-locking was required. Re-locking is rare and all incidents are fully investigated to ensure the safety and security of our prisons.EstablishmentCostReasonPortland£117,211.50Full set of keys missing and unaccounted for.Northumberland£422,477.46Several key/lock incidents reported within a short period of time.Birmingham£438,525.29Gate to a yard was found open and re-lock undertaken.Wandsworth£441,649.00key compromise, which necessitated changing all the prison locks.Erlestoke£21,304.70Compromise to lever mechanism locks for offices and storerooms.Wandsworth£324,486.39Full set of keys taken by a member of staff. Full re-lock undertaken.Full Sutton£2,821.40Member of staff left the establishment with keys to an inner perimeter inaccessible to prisoners. Partial re-lock was undertaken.Doncaster£313,139.66Full set of keys were taken by prisoner during an incident with a member of staff.Swaleside£28,650.00Service cupboard keys for cell electrics and plumbing on wings went missing. Decision made to re-lock service cupboards only.

Youth Justice

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what deadline he has set for ensuring that data on diversionary practices in youth justice pass the data quality threshold for inclusion in the annual youth justice statistics.

Edward Argar: The Youth Justice Board is responsible for publishing the annual youth justice statistics on children within England and Wales.To ensure that data meets the required quality standard for national statistics, the Youth Justice Board plans to release data on diversionary outcomes in January 2026 as part of the 2024/2025 publication.

Young Offenders: Education

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 16 October 2023 to Question 200365 on Young Offenders: Education, what key performance indicators are in place for senior management teams on the levels of provision of education in Secure Children’s Homes.

Edward Argar: The Youth Custody Service holds contracts with eight Secure Children’s Homes (SCH).These contracts include contract delivery indicators linked to performance expectations and are based on compliance with the Children’s Homes Regulations, 2015 (for England) and with the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017 (for Wales).For education specifically, the contracts refer to standard 8 (the provision of education and purposeful activity). In Wales, the contracts refer to regulations around suitability of service, including the child’s personal education plan. The contract delivery indicator requires that the SCH shall ensure that each young person makes measurable educational progress while resident at the SCH.

Prison Officers: Vacancies

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officer positions were vacant in (a) June, (b) July, (c) August, (d) September and (e) October 2023.

Edward Argar: Total Band 3-5 Prison Officer indicative vacancies (FTE) across Public Sector Prison Establishments in England & Wales, June 2023MonthIndicative vacancies (FTE)Jun-23879We have only provided data for June 2023, aligning with the most recent data published in the HMPPS Workforce Quarterly Statistics (scheduled for 16 November 2023). This is because vacancy figures, whilst not published are linked to information that will be released shortly and could therefore prejudice the proper release of that data. Therefore we are only able to provide a limited response.We are doing more than ever to attract and retain the best staff, including boosting salaries and launching our first-ever nationwide advertising campaign.These efforts are working - we have hired over 4,000 additional officers since March 2017 and retention rates for prison staff are improving.All data is taken from Workforce Planning Tools and shows the average position across the month, adjusted for joiners and leavers in the month.Data only covers prison establishments and will not reflect any Band 3 – 5 Prison Officers who are working in headquarters establishments.Workforce Planning Tool returns are manually completed by staff in prisons each month and, as with any manual returns, are subject to human error.Indicative vacancies are the difference between Target Staffing and Staff in Post across the entire England & Wales prison estate.Target Staffing is the number of staff required to run an optimal regime in each prison. This level is greater than the minimum number of staff required for a prison to operate safely, and includes allowances for staff taking leave, being off sick or being on training.The Target Staffing Figures are set on a site-specific basis and vary in size.Band 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (including specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.Target Staffing levels are established based on a 39-hour working week. Staff in Post (FTE) is set at 1.0 FTE for those on a 39-hour contract / 1.05 FTE for those on a 41-hour contract and 0.95 FTE for those on a 37-hour contract.Staff in Post data used to calculate an indicative number of vacancies does not take into account those on long-term absences (e.g. career breaks) / loans / secondments / agency staff or other forms of overtime.Where prisons are not at their Target Staffing level, these are routinely supplemented (e.g., by using Payment Plus, a form of overtime) which is not accounted for in the indicative vacancy data provided. Use of detached duty, a long-standing mechanism to deploy staff from one prison or region to support another, is also not reflected in the data.The above figure is a combination of indicative vacancies at prisons with Staff in Post below their Target Staffing level and the indicative number of surplus staff at other prisons where Staff in Post is above their Target Staffing level. In reality, prisons with surplus staff are likely to be sending those staff to work on Detached Duty at prisons with vacancies, and therefore netting vacancies against surpluses is a fair reflection of the overall national position.

Alternatives to Prison

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Referral Orders were issued in each reporting year since 2010.

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of Referral Orders was in each reporting year since 2010.

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Referral Orders by age were issued in each reporting year since 2010.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of Referral Orders issued, in each year since 2010 on principal disposal basis in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2022. This includes data on the age of offenders at the point they received a Referral Order. To view the total number of Referral Orders issued in each year, in the data tool, navigate to the ‘Sentence outcomes’ tab. Using ‘Detailed Sentence’ filter, select ‘07: Referral Order’. The pivot table will now present the total number of Referral Orders issued, at all courts, from 2010 to 2022. Data on the length of Referral Orders is only available from 2013/14 and can be found in the table below: Unpublished data: Average length of Referral Orders given to 10 to 17 year olds in England and Wales, years ending March 2014 to 2023 Year ending MarchAverage Length of Referral Order (In months)20146.320156.520166.720176.820186.920197.020207.120217.320227.320237.3 Source: Bespoke analysis of Youth Justice Application Framework (YJAF) PQ 928-To view total number of Referral Orders issued by age in each year, in the data tool, navigate to the ‘Sentence outcomes’ tab. Using ‘Detailed Sentence’ filter, select ‘07: Referral Order’. Inside the PivotTable Fields Box, drag ‘Age range’ into the ‘rows’ box. The pivot table will now present the total number of Referral Orders issued, by age range, at all courts, from 2010 to 2022.

Prison Officers: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what meetings Ministers in his Department have had with Prison Governors on the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of prison officers ion the last 12 months.

Edward Argar: Ministers engage with prison Governors on a regular basis and recruitment and retention are discussed frequently in meetings and on visits. The previous Prisons Minister had visited 24 prisons in the last 12 months. Recruitment is managed centrally for Band 3 Prison Officers.

Young Offender Institutions: Buildings

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 16 October 2023 to Question 200374 on Young Offender Institutions: Buildings, what his Department's timetable is for completing the survey of confirmed or suspected reinforced aerated autoclaved concrete in the youth secure estate.

Edward Argar: We take the safety of our staff, visitors, and those in our custody extremely seriously. We are carrying out an urgent and comprehensive programme of works conducting surveys across our extensive estate, including our youth secure estate. The programme, which is well underway, is continuing with due process.

Prison Sentences

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to update his Department's action plan on Sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection.

Edward Argar: The IPP sentence was introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and abolished in late 2012 by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act. This abolition was not applied retrospectively, as the Government at the time took the view it would not be right to alter sentences that had been lawfully imposed prior to their abolition.However, the Government continues to focus on the rehabilitation of those serving sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) through a refreshed and updated Action Plan, published on 26 April 2023.We are committed to reviewing the Plan’s scope and objectives every six months to ensure that the current actions remain appropriate and deliverable, having regard to HMPPS’s resources and wider responsibilities. The outcomes of the review will be shared as part of the promised IPP Annual Report, which will be published by the end of March 2024.The actions we are taking are working; the number of prisoners serving the IPP sentence who have never been released now stands at 1,269 as of September 2023, down from more than 6000 in 2012.

Young Offenders

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many youth conditional cautions were issued in each reporting year since 2010.

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many youth conditional cautions were issued by age in each reporting year since 2010.

Edward Argar: The amount of Youth Conditional Cautions issued per year is published in the Out of court disposals data tool which can be found at Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2022. To view the total number of YCCs issued in each year and by age, in the data tool, navigate to the ‘Cautions’ tab. The breakdown by youth conditional cautions is available from 2019. Data for earlier years is not routinely published and is included below.Amount of Youth Conditional Cautions issued per year:2010201120122013201420152016201720187566382,2393,6013,9523,8193,6633,161Amount of Youth Conditional Cautions issued per year, by age:20102011201220132014201520162017201810-1101050868992877012-140106491,1831,4271,3751,4161,17915-177364361,5192,3132,4092,3252,1421,889Unknown202211927271823Data in the published out of court disposals tool (linked above) may show youth cautions for ages 18 and above, these should be considered 'unknown age' as the age in these cases will not have been recorded accurately on the PNC. YCCs can only be issued to an offender aged 10 to 17 years old. Offenders aged 18 and above irrespective of their age when the offence was committed should be given a conditional caution.The sharp increase in the use of YCCs from 2012 to 2013 is due to amendments introduced by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. This abolished reprimands and final warnings and replaced them with a new system of youth cautions and youth conditional cautions which came into force on 8 April 2013.

Department of Health and Social Care

Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Health Services

Jane Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve care provided to patients with (a) Crohn's disease and (b) ulcerative colitis.

Andrew Stephenson: To support healthcare professionals in the early diagnosis and management of inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced a range of guidance, including guidance specifically on the use of faecal calprotectin tests as a way of diagnosing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). NICE’s IBD quality standard outlines that referral to a specialist assessment for suspected IBD should be within four weeks.NICE guidelines represent best practice and health professionals, including general practitioners, and service commissioners are expected to take them fully into account. Guidelines published by NICE are not mandatory and do not replace the judgement of clinicians in determining the most appropriate treatment for individual patients.In addition, NHS England’s Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) specialty report on gastroenterology, published in September 2021, sets out actions and recommendations for the National Health Service to improve patient care and ensure consistency of care across the country.It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including the diagnosis and management of IBD.

Social Services: Complaints

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of complaints that have been made to the Care Quality Commission about social care providers in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Whately: Over the last 12 months, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) received 31,904 complaints related to adult social care services. The CQC does not have legal powers to resolve complaints, but it uses the information it receives from complaints to help shape its regulatory activity.People receiving care have a right to complain to the organisation that provided or paid for the care. By law, all health and social care services must have a procedure for dealing efficiently with complaints. In the first instance, a complaint should be made to the service provider. If the care is funded or arranged by a local council, a complaint can be made to them as well. If someone has made a complaint to the care provider or local council and are unhappy with the response, they can make a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.My Rt. Hon friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, does not intend to make a statement at this time.

Social Services: Reform

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she plans to take to allocate remaining funding from the People at the Heart of Care funding for adult social care reform.

Helen Whately: In July 2023, the Department allocated this remaining funding to the Market Sustainability Improvement Fund, with £570 million allocated over the next two years. This fund is designed to maximise the impact of our system reform by further improving workforce recruitment and retention.All other reform funding has been allocated.

Suicide: Internet

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Section 2 of the Suicide Act 1961, how many times his Department has asked internet service providers to remove websites that encourage suicide in each of the last five years.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has not asked internet service providers to remove such websites in the last five years. However, we recognise the role of internet service providers in protecting people online. We are working with a range of organisations across the suicide prevention sector, and more widely, on this issue to enable better protection for individuals.The Online Safety Act, which received royal assent on 26 October 2023, will tackle illegal and legal forms of self-harm and suicide content in several ways. All services in scope will need to proactively prevent all users from being exposed to priority illegal content, including content that encourages or assists suicide.

Eating Disorders: Medical Treatments

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had recent discussions with (a) charities and (b) advocacy groups representing people with eating disorders on its guidance on NHS treatment for those conditions.

Maria Caulfield: We have not had any recent discussions with charities or advocacy groups regarding eating disorders.Ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are published on gov.uk.

Abortion: Telemedicine

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the compliance with (a) the Abortion Act 1967 and (b) other relevant legislation by providers of telemedicine abortion schemes.

Maria Caulfield: We have no plans to make such an assessment. The Department continues to work closely with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and abortion providers to ensure abortions, including telemedicine abortions, are only performed in accordance with the legal requirements set down by Parliament in the 1967 Abortion Act.

Abortion: Telemedicine

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides to (a) practitioners and (b) producers on the use of telemedicine for abortion care.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has published Required Standard Operating Procedures (RSOPs) for the approval of independent sector places for termination of pregnancy in England, which set outs the conditions and requirements for all independent sector providers to be approved for undertaking abortion care. The RSOPs include guidance for providers and practitioners on the provision of home-use early medical abortion (EMA) and sets out the expectation that home-use EMA must be carried out in line with clinical guidelines published by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.The Department has also published guidance to support practitioners to complete the EMA1 abortion form, which must be completed by the practitioner terminating the pregnancy to certify their opinion, formed in good faith, that the pregnancy will not exceed 10 weeks at the time when the first EMA pill is taken.

Abortion

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what training is required for NHS medical professionals working in abortion provision to ensure that they can (a) identify potential pressure and coercion and (b) understand its impact on informed consent.

Maria Caulfield: Safeguarding is an essential aspect of abortion care, and the Department’s Required Standard Operating Procedures (RSOPs) for approved independent sector abortion providers in England include the requirement that all abortion providers have effective arrangements in place to safeguard vulnerable women accessing home-use early medical abortion who may be experiencing coercion to end a pregnancy. Providers must ensure that all staff are trained in recognising the signs of potential abuse and coercion and know how to respond.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspects against all the Department’s RSOPs when it inspects an independent sector provider, and safeguarding procedures are included in the CQC’s Termination of Pregnancy inspection framework as areas to be considered during an inspection.As commissioners of abortion care, NHS England and integrated care boards are responsible for ensuring abortion providers have appropriately trained staff to meet safeguarding requirements.The standard of training for health care professionals is the responsibility of the health care independent statutory regulatory bodies who set the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and approve courses. Higher Education institutions write and teach the curricula content that enables their students to meet the regulators outcome standards. Whilst not all curricula may necessarily highlight a specific condition, they all emphasize the skills and approaches a health care practitioner must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients, including for abortion.

Abortion: Telemedicine

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that telemedicine abortion providers are not able to supply abortion drugs to people over the legal limit for that procedure.

Maria Caulfield: The Department continues to work closely with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and abortion providers to ensure abortions are only performed in accordance with the legal requirements set down by Parliament in the 1967 Abortion Act.Home use of early medical abortion pills is permitted if the pregnancy has not exceeded 10 weeks gestation at the time the first medicine in the course is administered. If there is any uncertainty about the gestation of the pregnancy, the woman should attend an in-person appointment.

Leukaemia: Greater London

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the leukaemia diagnosis rate in young people in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.

Andrew Stephenson: Increasing the diagnosis rates of cancers, including leukaemia, in young people is a priority for this government. Several organisations, including the Department, are taking steps across England to increase diagnosis rates including setting stretching ambitions, supporting general practitioners (GPs) in referring patients, expanding diagnostic capacity, and enabling more precise diagnosis through technology.The Department is working to support GPs in improving referrals for suspected cancer. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance underpinning cancer referrals sets out detailed guidance for GPs on the symptoms of cancer in children and young people, recommending very urgent referral, namely an appointment within 48 hours, for those presenting with a range of potential cancer symptoms including any unexplained lump, bruising, or bleeding, neurological symptoms or bone pain.Backed by £2.3 billion capital funding, the Department is expanding diagnostic capacity across the National Health Service by rolling out more Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs), delivering vital tests, scans, and checks. CDCs offer millions of patients the chance to access quicker, more convenient checks outside of hospitals, with capacity prioritised for cancer. This is contributing to the elective recovery delivery plan ambition for 75% of patients urgently referred by their GP for suspected cancer to receive a diagnosis or have cancer ruled out within 28 days.In addition, the NHS now offers all children and young people with cancer whole genome sequencing to enable more comprehensive and precise diagnosis, and access to more personalised treatments.These steps being taken across England, including in Enfield, are improving early diagnosis and giving more children and young people the best chance of beating cancer.

Cystic Fibrosis: Health Services

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve care for patients with cystic fibrosis.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England commissions 47 specialised cystic fibrosis centres for adults and children across England, in addition to supporting the optimal monitoring of patients with cystic fibrosis at home, and supporting best practice in remote consultations. Through these centres, NHS England provides a range of innovative treatments including inhaled therapies such as nebulised antibiotics. Since 2019, thousands of people with cystic fibrosis have been able to benefit from licensed treatments – firstly Orkambi and Symkeviand then Kaftrio, following its marketing authorisation in 2020. Access to these treatments is provided under the terms of a commercial agreement reached between the manufacturer, Vertex and NHS England, with the full support of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Within the agreement between NHS England and Vertex, there is a flexible commercial mechanism to ensure continued access for patients already receiving any of the licensed treatments following the conclusion of a full NICE evaluation. On 3 November 2023, NICE published a consultation on draft guidance that did not recommend these treatments as a cost-effective use of NHS resources. This draft is an initial step in the review of these medicines and does not affect patients’ continued access to these drugs on the NHS in any way. Eligible children and adults with cystic fibrosis can continue to receive ongoing treatment and be initiated onto treatment with these drugs, as clinically appropriate.  NHS England remains committed to ensuring that these life-changing cystic fibrosis medicines are available to everyone who may benefit, now and in the future, and will continue to work with Vertex and NICE through the next stages of the appraisal process to make this possible in a way that is fair to patients and taxpayers.

Community Diagnostic Centres

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many community diagnostic centres have been opened over the course of the current Parliament; and how many and what percentage of diagnostic centres have been opened (a) in existing health settings and (b) elsewhere in the community.

Andrew Stephenson: 127 permanent community diagnostic centre (CDC) locations have been opened during this Parliament, of which 105, or 83%, are located on National Health Service estate. This compares to 22, or 17%, permanent CDCs located on non-NHS estate.The Department and NHS England count CDCs delivering activity and accessing national CDC revenue funding as open. This may include activity delivered in temporary facilities while the full CDC is built.

Community Diagnostic Centres: Yorkshire and the Humber

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled Government to deliver 160 community diagnostic centres a year early, published on 31 October 2023, which community diagnostic centres in Yorkshire are (a) already operational and (b) due to open in the next twelve months.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government has confirmed it is now on track to meet its target to open 160 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) by March 2025, and expects to achieve this a year early in March 2024. 10 CDCs are currently operational in Yorkshire, with a further eight due to open ahead of November 2024, and a further final CDC planned to open by March 2025. In total, 19 CDCs are due to open in Yorkshire by March 2025. CDCs in Yorkshire have been defined as those open under the following integrated care boards (ICBs):- Humber and North Yorkshire ICB;- South Yorkshire ICB; and- West Yorkshire ICB. The following CDCs in Yorkshire are already operational:- Armley Moor Health Centre CDC;- Askham Bar Community Care Centre CDC;- Barnsley Glassworks CDC;- Bradford District and Craven CDC;- East Riding Community Hospital CDC;- Huddersfield CDC;- Leeds CDC;- Montagu Hospital CDC;- Rotherham Diagnostics CDC; and- Selby War Memorial CDC. The following CDCs in Yorkshire are due to open in the next twelve months:- Beeston Village Centre CDC;- Halifax CDC;- Hull & East Riding CDC;- North Lincolnshire CDC;- Ripon CDC;- Scarborough Gateway CDC;- Wakefield CDC; and- Withernsea Community Hospital CDC. The CDC in Hull & East Riding is due to open by March 2025. The Department and NHS England count CDCs delivering activity and accessing national CDC revenue funding as open. This may include activity delivered in temporary facilities while the full CDC is built.

Incontinence: Health Services

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of NHS continence services.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England established the National Bladder and Bowel Health Project in 2019, which is in the process of developing evidence-based service pathways to support a consistent approach to continence services and is planning to produce a framework.

Semaglutide

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of the NHS providing semaglutide injections to eligible individuals in the next 12 months.

Andrew Stephenson: We have made no such estimate, as the information is not held in the format requested. Semaglutide is licensed for treatment for patient with type 2 diabetes and for weight management for some cohorts of patients alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity in adults.

Respiratory System: Diseases

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the findings of Asthma and Lung UK's report entitled Saving your breath, published in September 2023, if he will make it his policy to increase funding for respiratory research to £141 million per year by 2030.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department funds respiratory research through the National Institute for Health and care Research (NIHR). It is not usual practice for the NIHR to ring-fence a proportion of its budget for research into particular topics or conditions. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including into respiratory conditions. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.

Clinical Trials

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to implement recommendation 27 of Commercial clinical trials in the UK: the Lord O’Shaughnessy review, published on 25 May 2023.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government will publish a full response to the Lord O’Shaughnessy independent review into commercial clinical trials in autumn 2023.The response will include an update on progress and implementation of the initial five headline commitments and foundational actions that the Government made in May 2023 as well as all other recommendations in the review.

Lisdexamfetamine and Methylphenidate: Shortages

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to issue serious shortage protocols for (a) lisdexamfetamine and (b) methylphenidate.

Andrew Stephenson: We are aware of disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of ADHD. While serious shortage protocols (SSPs) can be a useful tool to help manage and mitigate medicine and medical device shortages, they cannot be used for all patients and all medicines. Further, they are only issued if there is sufficient supply of suitable, alternative medicines, otherwise issuing an SSP risks causing a ‘knock on’ shortage of the alternative. For these reasons, there are currently no plans to issue SSPs for ADHD medicines, including lisdexamfetamine and methylphenidate.We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine shortages can be and we want to assure patients that we are working intensively with the respective manufacturers to resolve the issues as soon as possible and to ensure patients have continuous access to ADHD medicines in the UK, in the short and long term.We have issued communications to the National Health Service to advise healthcare professionals on management of patients whilst there continue to be disruptions to supplies. Patients are advised to speak to their clinician regarding any concerns they have and to discuss the suitability of treatment with alternative medicines.

Abiraterone: Prostate Cancer

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the level of availability of abiraterone on the NHS on the health of prostate cancer patients.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward the planned review of abiraterone as a treatment for prostate cancer on the NHS.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the use of abiraterone as a treatment for prostate cancer by the NHS.

Andrew Stephenson: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that provides evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically- and cost-effective use of resources. The NHS is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, usually within three months of final guidance.NICE has published guidance recommending abiraterone for the treatment of hormone-relapsed metastatic prostate cancer before chemotherapy is indicated and for the castration-resistant variant of that cancer previously treated with a docetaxel-containing regimen. NHS England funds abiraterone for these indications of prostate cancer in line with NICE’s recommendations, making it routinely available for the treatment of eligible patients.Abiraterone is not licensed for the treatment of non-metastatic prostate cancer and has therefore not been appraised by NICE for such use. NHS England is considering a clinical policy proposal for abiraterone as a treatment option for patients newly diagnosed with high risk, non-metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, or in whom prostate cancer has relapsed after at least 12 months without treatment. This specific policy proposal is due to be discussed later in November 2023 and if supported by a clinical panel it will progress to stakeholder testing by January 2024.

Diabetes: Drugs

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the supply of Ozempic pens for patients with type 2 diabetes.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to increase the availability of Ozempic pens for patients with type 2 diabetes.

Andrew Stephenson: We are aware of a supply issue with glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) medicines, including Ozempic pens. We have issued guidance in the form of Medicine Supply Notifications and, on 18 July 2023, issued a National Patient Safety Alert with advice for healthcare professionals on how to manage patients requiring this medicine.Our guidance is clear that GLP-1 RA medicines that are solely licensed to treat Type 2 diabetes should only be used for that purpose and should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss.The General Pharmaceutical Council, General Medical Council, Health and Care Professions Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland have also issued a joint statement stressing the importance of health and care professionals meeting regulatory standards in relation to these medicines. We have also added some of these products to the list of medicines that cannot be exported from, or hoarded in, the United Kingdom.We are continuing to work closely with manufacturers and others working in the supply chain to help ensure the continued supply of these medicines for UK patients, for example by asking suppliers to expedite deliveries. We have provided advice for healthcare professionals on how to manage patients requiring this medicine whilst there are shortages and are keeping this under review as the situation evolves.

Brain: Tumours

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the APPG on Brain Tumours Inquiry Report entitled Pathway to A Cure, whether his Department plans to work with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to encourage the inclusion of brain tumour patients in early phase cancer trials.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care welcomes the All-Party Parliamentary Group report, recommendations of which continue to be worked through with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, and UK Research and Innovation and the Medical Research Council.A series of new measures are to be introduced by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency with support from partners to make it faster and easier to gain approval and to run clinical trials in the United Kingdom. As part of this, comprehensive new guidance, co-designed with various stakeholder groups, will be introduced to accompany the new legislative measures. This will ensure that UK clinical trials work in partnership with patients and the public and are representative of the diversity of people who may benefit from a medicine if the data generated ultimately lead to regulatory approval. The guidance will outline how to include patients meaningfully into the design and conduct of trials, and how to achieve diversity in trials in a way that is proportionate and achieves the best results.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Prescription Drugs

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of prescription medication used to treat ADHD.

Andrew Stephenson: We are aware of disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Some issues have now been resolved. However, we know that there are currently disruptions to the supply of some other medicines, primarily driven by issues which have resulted in capacity constraints at key manufacturing sites. These issues are expected to resolve by end December 2023.We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine shortages can be and we want to assure patients that we are working intensively with the respective manufacturers to resolve the issues as soon as possible and to ensure patients have continuous access to ADHD medicines in the United Kingdom, in the short and long term.We have issued communications to the National Health Service to advise healthcare professionals on management of patients whilst there continue to be disruptions to supplies. Patients are advised to speak to their clinician regarding any concerns they have and to discuss the suitability of treatment with alternative medicines.

Parkinson's Disease: Health Services

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by Parkinson's UK entitled Every minute counts, published in September 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the proportion of patients with Parkinson's admitted to hospital who always receive their medication on time.

Andrew Stephenson: Within secondary care, hospital providers are responsible for ensuring that patients within hospital settings, including those with Parkinson’s disease, receive the appropriate medication on time.NHS England has published a RightCare toolkit which aims to address challenges in providing services for those with progressive neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease. The toolkit provides advice on medicine optimisation, highlighting the importance of timely administration of specific drugs, such as Levodopa, in acute and community health settings.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Research

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that funding for biomedical research into myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is adequate; and whether he plans to take steps to establish a centre of excellence on ME to (a) promote understanding of and (b) develop effective treatments for that illness.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR has provided around £4.4 million of programme funding for research on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) since 2011.Through the NIHR, the Department has co-funded, with the Medical Research Council (MRC) a £3.2 million study called DecodeME into the genetic underpinning of ME/CFS. The study will analyse samples from 25,000 people with ME/CFS to search for genetic differences that may indicate underlying causes or an increased risk of developing the condition. This study aims to increase our understanding of the disease and therefore contribute to the research base on diagnostic tests and targeted treatments for ME/CFS.The Department and the NIHR has no specific plans to establish a centre of excellence for ME research. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including biomedical research for ME/CFS. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.

Social Services

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to help local authorities provide oversight of agency companies that provide social care services.

Helen Whately: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England with oversight to ensure services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care, encouraging services to improve. The CQC regulates residential and community adult social care providers, using their regulatory powers to act where poor care is identified. Additionally, the Health and Care Act 2022 gave the CQC new powers to assess how well local authorities meet their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. CQC assessments will look at how local authorities work with people, providing support, safety in the system and leadership.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the maximum funding available through the Disabled Facilities Grant to take account of increases in the cost of living.

Helen Whately: Local areas already have discretion to make grants above the current upper limit on a case-by-case basis, or in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. As with all aspects of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), the Government will continue to keep the upper limit under review.The paper entitled Next steps to put People at the Heart of Care, published in April 2023, announced a further £102 million of funding for housing adaptation support, including £50 million in 2023/24 and £52 million in 2024/25. This is in addition to the £573 million per year which is already available for the DFG. The increase will enable local areas to fund supplementary services that are agile and help people stay independent, support hospital discharge, and make minor adaptations.

Mental Health Services

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been treated using NHS Talking Therapies online in each Integrated care system area in the most recent period for which data is available; and what proportion of such therapies are conducted (a) online, (b) face to face and (c) by phone.

Maria Caulfield: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 November 2023 to question PQ560It is available at the following link:  https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-11-07/560

Kidney Diseases: Complementary Medicine

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the 10 recommendations in Kidney Care UK's report entitled Caring for people with kidney disease: Psychosocial health – a manifesto for action, published in June 2022, what steps he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to improve the (i) social and (ii) emotional care provided to people with kidney disease.

Andrew Stephenson: In England, care for patients with chronic kidney disease is addressed through the specialised service specifications for renal services. Service specifications define the standards of care expected from organisations providing specialised care and, for renal services, they require patients to have access to psychology services and social work advice as a core component of a multi-disciplinary team.NHS England, through its Renal Services Transformation Programme and regional renal clinical networks, is progressing a series of programmes to provide better and more joined-up care across care settings, reducing health inequalities, and focussing on prevention and timely intervention through streamlined patient pathways to address management of deteriorating kidney disease. Psychosocial support within renal services has been identified by the Programme as a theme for improvement.

Brain: Tumours

Jane Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the recommendations of the APPG on Brain Tumours report entitled Pathway to A Cure – breaking down the barriers, published on 28 February 2023; whether his Department is taking steps to support brain tumour research applications to the National Institute for Health and Care Research; and whether his Department has plans to ring-fence funding for (a) discovery, (b) translational and (c) clinical research into brain tumours.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department welcomes the All-Party Parliamentary Group report. We are taking steps to ensure that funders work closely together to coordinate work along the translational pathway, from the discovery and early translational science typically supported by the MRC, feeding through to the applied health and care research funded by the NIHR.It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications.NIHR is taking action to help researchers develop high-quality proposals, including working with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission on workshops and courses for applications in development. Similarly, the NIHR Research Support Service will support researchers applying for funding with expert advice, to help them develop the best funding applications.

Breast Cancer: Yorkshire and the Humber

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of rates of breast screening participation in Yorkshire.

Maria Caulfield: Data on screening participation in Yorkshire is collected and assessed yearly by NHS England. Data is collected on screening coverage, the percentage of women adequately screened in the last three and a half years, and uptake which shows the percentage of women invited who attended screening within six months of their invitation. The latest data, which is from 2020/21 for Yorkshire, shows that uptake was 61.4%, with coverage being 64.4%.The national targets for uptake are as follows:- Acceptable level: greater than or equal to 70.0%- Achievable level: greater than or equal to 80.0%The national targets for coverage are as follows:- Acceptable level: greater than or equal to 70.0%- Achievable level: greater than or equal to 80.0%Data is published by NHS England and available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/breast-screening-programme/england---2020-21

Health Services

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on (a) establishing and (b) defining the priorities of the Highly Specialised Services Programme Board.

Andrew Stephenson: We will not define the priorities of the Highly Specialised Services Programme Board. NHS England established the Highly Specialised Services Oversight Group (HSSOG), previously referred to as the Highly Specialised Services Programme Board, in April 2023 to ensure that there is a continued clear focus on highly specialised services and rare diseases.HSSOG is the operational group responsible for discharging NHS England’s duties, powers and responsibilities in respect of the 80 highly specialised services. HSSOG’s membership is across the United Kingdom and includes representation from integrated care boards.HSSOG takes its strategic clinical advice and clinical leadership from the Rare Diseases Advisory Group and has a role in implementing the England Rare Diseases Action Plan.

Arthritis: Young People

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support young people with arthritis to transition from child to adult health services.

Andrew Stephenson: To support young people with arthritis transitioning from child to adult health services, each integrated care board (ICB) has an Executive Lead for Children and Young People. This lead is responsible for ensuring the functions of their ICBs work in the best interests of children and young people, including those with arthritis. As set out in the Long Term Plan, NHS England is working to ensure that no child or young person will be lost in the gaps between children’s and adults’ services. In addition, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence has produced guidance for healthcare practitioners and commissioners to support young people with cerebral palsy during their transition from children to adult’s services. Specific recommendations include clear pathways for transition and a named support worker.

Chronic Illnesses: Children

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking (a) with the Secretary of State for Education and (b) through the Major Conditions Strategy to improve support for children with health conditions in schools.

Andrew Stephenson: The early years, childhood and adolescence present an opportunity for prevention of later onset of the major conditions. Babies, children, and young people both experience the major conditions directly and are impacted through indirect experience when someone in their household has one or more conditions.We are engaging across Government and with wider stakeholders representing babies, children, and young people to ensure their views are considered in the development of the strategy.

Health Professions: Cancer

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of Radiologists’ 2022 Workforce Census, what assessment he has made of the shortage in the NHS clinical oncology workforce on (a) radiotherapy waiting times, (b) patient outcomes and (c) staff well-being.

Andrew Stephenson: No such assessment has been made. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) was published on 30 June 2023. Backed by over £2.4 billion of Government investment over the next five years, the LTWP will put the workforce on a sustainable footing for the long term.

Members: Correspondence

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of (a) 1 August, (b) 5 September, (c) 5 October and (d) 19 October 2023 from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay, case reference JB39890.

Andrew Stephenson: The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord Markham) replied to the hon. Member on 10 November 2023.

Brain: Injuries

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve care for patients with acquired brain injuries.

Andrew Stephenson: Through the cross-Government Acquired Brain Injury Strategy, we will improve experiences and outcomes for people who live with acquired brain injury by outlining what survivors of acquired brain injury and their families should expect from public services, including health and care services. We expect to publish the Strategy next year.

Department for Education

Higher Education and Qualifications: Disability

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to higher (a) education and (b) qualifications for people with disabilities.

Robert Halfon: The Higher Education and Research Act (HERA) 2017 established the Office for Students (OfS) as the regulator for higher education (HE). It has a statutory duty to have regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity in relation to the whole student lifecycle for disadvantaged and traditionally under-represented groups, including not only access, but also student success and progression.In November 2021, the department issued guidance to the OfS, asking it to refocus the access and participation regime to create a system that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds throughout their education.All approved providers who are intending to charge fees above the basic amount are required to fully rewrite their Access and Participation Plans (APPs) and to have these in place for September 2025. This work has started, with the first wave of HE providers having already submitted their revised plans to the OfS, to be in place by September 2024.In March 2023, the OfS launched the Equality of Opportunity Risk Register (EORR). This will empower HE providers to deliver interventions for groups of students least likely to experience equal opportunity in HE settings by highlighting 12 key sector risks across the student lifecycle (access, attainment and progression) and the groups most likely to experience these. HE providers will be expected to refer to the EORR when writing their own APPs.The department works with a range of stakeholders to ensure that it is aware of any issues or barriers which students with disabilities may face.The department has been working with the Department for Work and Pensions’ to pilot an Access to Work Adjustment planner in Universities. The planner will support on-going discussions and assessments on how to support disabled students and ease the transition from university into employment by reducing the need for repeated health assessments when starting a new job.The planner will now be rolled out nationally and be offered to students who already receive extra support while studying at university, capturing information about their condition and the adjustments they already benefit from, avoiding repetitive disclosures when it comes to applying for the grant once they start work.

Apprentices: Gloucestershire

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeship starts there were in (a) Gloucester and (b) Gloucestershire in each year since 2010.

Robert Halfon: Since the 2010/11 academic year there have been 14,860 apprenticeship starts in Gloucester and 57,200 in Gloucestershire reported to date. These totals include the 2022/23 academic year figures which are provisional and cover the first three quarters (August 2022 to April 2023). The full year figures for the 2022/23 academic year will be published on 30 November 2023.Apprenticeship starts are recorded on the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) and published by the department in the apprenticeships and traineeships statistics publication, which can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships. Apprenticeship starts for Gloucester and Gloucestershire for the 2010/11 to 2022/23 academic years are shown here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/38cbdfef-ad03-41bc-4937-08dbdfb23d99.

Universities: Antisemitism

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on which universities have not ratified the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism.

Robert Halfon: As of 13 October 2023, the Office for Students’ (OfS) list of higher education providers that have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism stands at 245 providers in England. This includes the vast majority of universities. The OfS’s list of providers is based on publicly available information and confirmation of adoption from providers. The latest list can be accessed at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/student-wellbeing-and-protection/prevent-and-address-harassment-and-sexual-misconduct/tackling-antisemitism/.

Department for Education: Civil Servants

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Cabinet Office statistics on Permanent and temporary civil servants by sex, age band and department: 2023, published on 31 October 2023, how many permanent civil servants excluding agencies worked for her Department on 31 March (a) 2011, (b) 2016 and (c) 2020.

Robert Halfon: The data on the number of permanent staff employed by the Department, excluding agencies, in March 2016 is available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/publicsectoremploymentreferencetable/march2016/psereferencetablesmarch2016.xls. The data for March 2020 is available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/publicsectoremploymentreferencetable/march2020/datasets.xlsx. Data for 2011 includes agencies due to reporting arrangements in 2011. This is available at: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20150905000144mp_/http:/www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pse/public-sector-employment/q1-2011/stb-q1-2011.pdf.The Department’s resources are routinely reviewed to ensure the Department has the capabilities and capacity required to respond to changing priorities and deliver efficiently and effectively.

Pupils: Hearing Impaired

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department provides to school pupils suffering from (a) partial and (b) total hearing loss.

David Johnston: The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan outlines the department’s mission for more children and young people to have their needs met effectively, including pupils with partial or total hearing loss.It is the responsibility of local authorities, schools, and further education settings to commission appropriately qualified staff to support the education of children and young people in their area.To teach a class of pupils with sensory impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification, which is a Mandatory Qualification in Sensory Impairment (MQSI). Teachers working in an advisory role to support these pupils should also hold the appropriate qualification.To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. The department’s aim is to ensure a steady supply of teachers for children with visual, hearing, and multi-sensory impairments, in both specialist and mainstream settings. There are currently six providers of the MQSI, with a seventh to begin in September 2024.The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has also developed a Sensory Impairment apprenticeship and expects it to be available from 2025. This will open a paid, work-based route into teaching children and young people with sensory impairments by enabling people to undertake high-quality apprenticeships.

Childcare: Lone Parents

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's policy is on providing additional childcare support for single parents.

David Johnston: ​​The early education entitlements are available to all family types, including single parents, subject to meeting the eligibility criteria. The universal 15 hours free childcare offer is available to all 3 and 4 year olds regardless of parental circumstances. Parents may also be eligible for 15 hours for disadvantaged 2 year olds if they meet the eligibility criteria.​The 30 hours of free childcare is available to parents who earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the national minimum/living wage, and under £100,000 per year. This means that parents can be eligible if they earn over £167 per week or £8,670 per year.​In the 2023 Spring Budget, the government announced a number of transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children and the economy. By 2027/28, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.​The announcement included the expansion of the 30 hours free childcare offer, through which eligible working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year from the term after their child turns 9 months old to when they start school. This will be rolled out in phases starting from April 2024.​This latest investment demonstrates that improving the cost, choice and availability of childcare for working parents is important for this government.Further information about childcare support is also available at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

Childcare

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to assess the adequacy of the number of childcare places.

David Johnston: The department continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare places. The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children.The department’s Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey shows that the number of places available has remained broadly stable since 2019. Additionally, the population of children aged 0-4 in this period has fallen.Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area.The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, the department discusses what action the local authority is taking to address these issues, and where needed to support the local authority with any specific requirements through the department’s childcare sufficiency support contract.

Schools: Asbestos

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have asbestos on their estate; how many schools have an asbestos management plan in place; and what funding her Department has provided to the London Borough of Harrow for the (a) removal and (b) management of asbestos in each of the last 13 years.

David Johnston: The Department takes the safety of children and those who work with them very seriously and expects Local Authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts to have robust plans in place to manage asbestos in school buildings effectively, in line with their legal duties.Asbestos duty holders, such as Local Authorities and academy trusts, are responsible for understanding the presence of asbestos in schools and putting appropriate measures in place for its management.The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates schools’ compliance with legislation to manage their asbestos safely. These require duty holders to have a robust asbestos management plan, train staff, and maintain an asbestos register detailing location, type, and condition of asbestos in their buildings.Information on how schools are managing asbestos is now being collected via the Department’s Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme, which started in 2021 and will complete in 2026.The Department has committed £1.8 billion of capital funding for the 2023/24 financial year to improve the condition of school buildings, as part of over £15 billion allocated since 2015. In addition, the Department will transform poor condition buildings at 500 schools and colleges through the School Rebuilding Programme.The Department provides annual capital funding to Local Authorities to improve the condition of their schools and keep them safe and compliant with relevant regulations, including removing asbestos, when it cannot be managed safely in situ. Harrow local authority was allocated £2.7 million in School Condition Allocations for the 2023/24 financial year to provide funding to the schools for which it is responsible. This is part of £19 million allocated since 2015, when School Condition Allocations were introduced.

St Leonard's Catholic School

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to make a risk assessment of allowing specialist teams to retrieve books, coursework and other items which have been inaccessible at St Leonard’s Catholic School since September 2023.

David Johnston: St Leonard’s Catholic School has an assigned project director who has been working with the trust and school leadership team, providing support and direction. As part of this work, the Department has commissioned a risk assessment. The decant of coursework and other items, as requested by the school, was completed on Friday 27 October.

St Leonard's Catholic School

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish a timeline of the deployment of demountable classrooms for St Leonard’s Catholic School in the City of Durham.

David Johnston: St Leonard’s Catholic School has an assigned project director who has been working with the trust and school leadership team, providing support and direction to ensure all children return to face-to-face education as quickly as possible. As a result of this work, all pupils returned to full-time face-to-face learning on 30 October 2023.Work is underway to provide temporary classrooms on the school playing field, which will allow years 7 and 8 to return from Ushaw College. The Department is working with the school on timing of the move, and this will be early in the new year.

Children: Behaviour Disorders

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that all teachers are trained to support children who meet the criteria for oppositional defiant disorder.

David Johnston: All teachers need to be equipped to teach pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). High quality teaching is the single most important factor within school in improving outcomes for all pupils, including those with oppositional defiant disorder.Training and development to support children with SEND begins at the beginning of a teacher’s career journey, through their Initial Teacher Training (ITT), and is embedded throughout the Early Career Framework (ECF). ITT courses are designed so that trainee teachers can demonstrate that they meet the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level. This includes the requirement in Standard 5 that all teachers must have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils. Careful consideration has been given to the needs of trainee teachers in relation to supporting pupils with SEND, and the ECF builds on that learning for early career teachers once qualified. Both the ITT Core Content Framework (CCF) and ECF were designed in consultation with the education sector, including SEND specialists.Once teachers qualify and are employed in schools, head teachers also use their professional judgement to identify any further training, including specific specialisms, for individual staff that is relevant to them, the school, and its pupils.The Department also funds the Universal Services programme, worth £12 million, which offers online training, professional development groups, bespoke school and college improvement projects, sector led research, autism awareness training and an embedded focus on preparation for adulthood, including employer led webinars. The programme commenced in May 2022 and will run until Spring 2025.So far, 6,600 school and college staff have accessed free online training modules, and 81 schools and over 135 colleges have identified and led their own SEND focused school improvement project. These projects focussed on SEND governance, teaching assistant deployment, early identification of SEND and the curriculum.

Department for Education: Theft

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data their Department holds on the (a) number and (b) total cost of replacing (i) laptops, (ii) mobile phones, (iii) memory sticks and (iv) external hard drives that have been (A) lost and (B) stolen in the last year.

Robert Halfon: The following table includes the number of lost / stolen devices in the Department for Education in the last year, as per our corporate IT asset register. 1 Nov 2022 to 31 Oct 2023Unit Replacement CostTotal Replacement CostLaptops57£960.66£54,757.62Mac’s3£2,084.00£6,252.00Mobile phones73£314.00£22,922.00Memory sticks10£100.00£1,000.00External Hard Drives0n/a£0 All Departmental IT is fully security encrypted. The Departmental security unit records and investigates each reported loss from the Department. If appropriate, the police are invited to undertake further inquiries. Any mobile device reported as lost is immediately and remotely deactivated and the contents deleted. The user account on any laptop reported as lost is immediately and remotely locked. There has been no data loss or compromise as a result of these losses.

STEM Subjects

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department made of the adequacy of (a) laboratory facilities, (b) equipment and (c) classrooms used for STEM subjects in secondary schools.

Robert Halfon: The Department does not organise or hold assessments of facilities for the provision of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. It is the responsibility of individual schools to assess the laboratory facilities, equipment and classrooms that they need for teaching STEM subjects, and to decide how to use their budgets accordingly.

Children: Neurodiversity

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish details of funding allocations for early years identification of neurodivergent conditions.

David Johnston: Funding for the identification of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is a matter for the Department of Health and Social Care, however, the Department for Education provides a variety of funding streams which contribute to supporting early years children with SEND.High needs funding is increasing by £440 million, or 4.3%, in 2024/25, compared to the high needs funding allocations for 2023/24. The total high needs budget for 2024/25 will be £10.54 billion. Further information on current government funding for high needs can be found in the high needs block of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) here: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2023-to-2024.The Department offers a range of support for children with SEND. The Disability Access Fund (DAF) allows early years providers to make reasonable adjustments to their setting and to support the needs of DAF eligible children. Providers can receive £828 per year, per eligible child. From September 2023 to March 2024, following the introduction of the Early Years Supplementary Grant (EYSG), the EYSG payable rate for the DAF is an additional £30.92 per eligible child, on top of the current rate of £828. Details of the DAF currently paid to local authorities can be found in the early years block of the DSG here: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2023-to-2024.In addition, the Early Years National Funding Formula contains an additional needs element to take account of the number of 3 and 4-year-old children with additional needs in an area. Further, 2-year-old children in receipt of Disability Living Allowance and/or an Education Health and Care plan are also eligible for the 15 hours free childcare entitlement for 2-year-olds.Local authorities are required to have Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funds (SENIFs) for all 3 and 4-year-olds with Special Educational Needs (SEN) who are taking up the free entitlements. These funds are intended to support local authorities to work with providers to address the needs of individual children with SEN. Earlier this year, the department consulted on extending the requirement to establish SENIFs to all children accessing the entitlements from April 2024 and will be publishing the Government response shortly.As stated in the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, the department is reviewing the operation of SENIFs and will work with local authorities, providers and stakeholders to understand what improvements would support better outcomes for children with SEND. The department is also reviewing other associated elements of the wider current early years funding system, to ensure early years SEND funding arrangements are appropriate and well-targeted to improve outcomes for all pre-school children with SEND, and also to support the introduction of a national framework for bands and tariffs as per the SEND and AP Improvement Plan. Further information on the SEND and AP Improvement Plan can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/63ff39e6e90e0740de2669fd/SEND_and_alternative_provision_improvement_plan_print_ready.pdf.

Educational Psychology

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the value for money provided by educational psychologists; whether she has had recent discussions with the Association of Educational Psychologists’ on recruitment and retention within the profession; and if she will make it her policy to ensure local authorities are provided with sufficient funding to increase recruitment and retention rates.

David Johnston: Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. This was evidenced in a recent research report on the workforce, commissioned by the department and published by Warwick Institute of Employment Research and Ecorys, in June 2023. This is why the department is investing a further £21 million to fund the training of a further 400 educational psychologists from 2024.The department regularly engages with stakeholders, including the Association of Educational Psychologists, on issues relating to the educational psychology workforce. With regards to funding, it is the responsibility of employers to decide what is affordable within their overall resources. The majority of government funding is not ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities.

Advanced British Standard: Staff

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many officials within her Department are working on the development of the Advanced British Standard.

David Johnston: Officials in the Department support the government to deliver education and children’s social care priorities. The Department’s vision is for a workforce with world class skills which is flexible and can be deployed quickly to priority areas. As the Advanced British Standard is a priority, cross cutting reform, officials from across the Department are engaging in this work.

Children: Neurodiversity

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress her Department has made towards strengthening (a) early intervention and (b) support for children with neurodivergent conditions in schools.

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the early identification of neurodivergent conditions in students within the education system.

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase schools' access to screeners that identify children with neurodivergent conditions.

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department takes to collaborate with relevant (a) organisations and (b) experts to increase early identification of neurodivergent conditions.

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) guidance and (b) resources her Department provides to schools to support the early identification of neurodivergent conditions.

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that teachers have access to the most up-to-date (a) research and (b) screening tools for identifying neurodivergent conditions in school children.

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what examples of successful early identification programmes for neurodivergent conditions she has identified in schools across the country.

David Johnston: The department wants all children and young people, no matter what their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) to receive the right support to reach their full potential.Under the Children and Families Act 2014, mainstream schools and colleges must use their best endeavours to ensure that a child or young person who has Special Educational Needs (SEN) gets the special educational provision they need. The SEND Code of Practice is clear that meeting the needs of a child with SEN does not require a diagnostic label or test. Instead, the department expects teachers to monitor the progress of all children and young people and provide support where it is needed, including arranging diagnostic tests where appropriate.To support all teachers in meeting these expectations, the department is implementing teacher training reforms. These reforms are designed to ensure that teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with SEND. Since 2020, the Initial Teacher Training Core Content Framework (CCF) has included content on adapting teaching to the strengths and needs of all pupils. The department is conducting a review of the CCF and Early Career Framework, which will consider further opportunities to improve how the frameworks support new teachers to meet the needs of pupils with SEND.The department’s Universal Services (US) contract brings together SEND-specific continuous professional development and support for the teaching workforce to improve outcomes for children and young people. This includes autism awareness training and resources. Over 100,000 professionals have undertaken autism awareness training since the US programme launched.The 2023 SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan outlines the department’s vision to improve mainstream education by setting standards for the early and accurate identification of need, and timely access to support to meet those needs. The standards will clarify the types of support that should be ordinarily available in mainstream settings and practitioner standards will be developed to support frontline professionals. The first three practitioner standards will be published by the end of 2025 and will include one on autism. To inform this, analysts and policy officials keep under review all evidence-based good practice, including international evidence.The 2021 Autism Strategy sets out the government’s ambition to make significant progress on improving early identification, reducing diagnosis waiting times and improving diagnostic pathways for all people, including children and young people. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is taking steps to improve access to assessments for autism. In 2023/24, DHSC allocated £4.2 million to improve services for autistic children and young people including assessments, pre- and post-diagnostic support, and the continuation of the Autism in Schools programme. Additionally, in April 2023, NHS England published a national framework to support the local NHS to commission and deliver autism assessment services for children, young people, and adults.The department has not undertaken an assessment of the effectiveness of universal screening for neurodivergent conditions. However, from 2019, the department’s Opportunity Area programme invested £600,000 in a pilot to deliver earlier identification and faster assessment of autism, by connecting teachers and health professionals in schools. The pilot began in Bradford and was subsequently adopted by four other Opportunity Areas. The University of Manchester has been commissioned to evaluate the Early Identification of Autism Projects, and their report is due by the end of November 2023. Bradford’s Centre for Applied Education Research is drawing on the learning from the pilot to build and test a new digital tool to help Key Stage 1 teachers to identify and respond to learning and support needs of neurodivergent children in the classroom.

STEM Subjects: Teachers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of recent trends in the numbers of newly qualified teachers for STEM subjects.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the retention rate of STEM teachers working in state schools.

Robert Halfon: There are now over 468,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state-funded schools in England, which is an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This makes it the highest FTE of teachers since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.The department has put in place a range of measures, including bursaries worth £28,000 tax free and scholarships worth £30,000 tax free, to encourage talented STEM trainees to key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.From the 2023/24 academic year, physics trainees from non-UK countries are also eligible for these bursaries and scholarships, and for a one off payment of £10,000 as part of the international relocation payment pilot.To encourage engineering graduates and career changers with an engineering background, to consider a career as a physics teacher, the department has launched a pilot Initial Teacher Training course in spring 2022 called ‘Engineers teach physics. Following that pilot, the department has rolled the course out to all providers nationally in academic year 2022/23.To help retention of STEM teachers, the department is funding a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 after tax annually for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools, including in Education Investment Areas. For the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years, the department will provide around £100 million each year to double the rates of the Levelling Up Premium to up to £6,000 after tax. The premium will expand to cover eligible STEM and technical subjects in colleges, including electronics, engineering and digital, alongside the teachers in schools teaching mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.These payments will incentivise the recruitment and retention of STEM and technical graduates within the schools and further education colleges where they are needed most.

Home Office

Refugees: Afghanistan

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 19 October 2023 to Question 202637, whether her Department has collected data on the number of Afghans housed in hotel accommodation in March 2023 who were given at least one offer of permanent accommodation before 31 August 2023.

Robert Jenrick: The one offer accommodation matching process was introduced on 02 May 2023.The one offer accommodation matching process has seen 74 households refuse offers of accommodation. This is in addition to the 317 accommodation offers refused under the previous process.This is the best available operational data as of 31 August 2023. A further Operational data release is due on 23 November 2023.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Westminster Hall debate on Safe Asylum Routes: Afghan Refugees on 17 October 2023, whether unaccompanied children who came to the UK through the Afghan Citizen's Resettlement Scheme 1 will be able to sponsor family members who are still in (a) Afghanistan and (b) a third country, to resettle in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: The government remains committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan. However, the situation is complex and presents significant challenges, including how those who are eligible for resettlement in the UK can leave the country. This includes eligible immediate family members of those being resettled under the ACRS.

Visas: Palestinians

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating medical visas for people unable to access healthcare in Gaza.

Robert Jenrick: There are no plans to change the rules around medical treatment for visitors.Since Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel on 7 October the UK has committed £30 million in additional aid. The aid will respond to critical food, water, healthcare, shelter and protection needs for those affected by this crisis.

Refugees: Palestinians

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support family reunions for Palestinians in the UK who have relatives in Gaza.

Robert Jenrick: The UK Government is monitoring the situation in Israel and Gaza closely to ensure that it is able to respond appropriately.British citizens and those with settled status in the UK, together with their foreign national dependants may come to the UK provided that they have valid travel documents, and existing permission to enter or remain in the UK; or are non-visa nationals. They must also pass appropriate security checks.Individuals who do not meet these criteria should apply for a visa to enable them to enter the UK in the normal way.UKVI is working closely with the FCDO in supporting family members of British nationals evacuated from Gaza who require a visa, signposting the necessary steps and expediting appointments at the Visa Application Centre.

British Nationals Abroad: Gaza

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to interview UK nationals returning from Gaza in the context of border checks.

Robert Jenrick: In the UK, the Immigration Rules require all arriving passengers to establish their eligibility for admission. To maintain a safe and secure border, a passenger’s passport or national identity card is checked electronically and visually. We are confident that extra checks take place when necessary.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to expedite applications for resettlement to the UK made by Afghan people who are (a) in Pakistan and (b) at risk of being removed to Afghanistan before they receive a decision.

Robert Jenrick: We continue to honour our commitment to bring eligible Afghans to the UK and plans are underway to relocate families as soon as possible.Afghans in third countries including in Pakistan who are eligible for resettlement to the UK continue to be supported by the UK Government, and flights from Pakistan to the UK continue to take place. However, we are unable to provide further operational details on this.The UK Government is aware of recent announcements made by the Government of Pakistan regarding Afghans being illegally present in Pakistan. We have engaged intensively with the Government of Pakistan to secure assurances that none of those eligible under Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will be subject to deportation while they await relocation to the UK.

Visas: Israel and Palestinians

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will lift visa fees for (a) Palestinian and (b) Israeli family reunions.

Robert Jenrick: Applicants outside of the UK wishing to apply to join or accompany a British national; or a person present and settled in the UK, with a view to residing in the UK, may apply for a fee waiver if they consider they cannot afford the fee.There is no fee attached to applications submitted under Appendix Family Reunion to the immigration rules.

Visas: Africa

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 26 October 2023 to Question 203790 on Visas: Africa, whether the (a) passports and (b) other documents of visa applicants applying at Visa Application Centres in (i) South Africa, (ii) Kenya, (iii) Nigeria and (iv) Ghana are (A) digitally copied and (B) checked at that Visa Application Centre.

Robert Jenrick: The Commercial partners take tri-scans of customers passports and scan all other supporting documents onto a digital portal for Decision Making Centres to view via a secure cloud solution.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's plan to implement The High Court judgment in Independent Monitoring Authority v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWHC 3274 (Admin) by providing those with pre-settled status a two year extension before it expires, what steps she plans to take to ensure that an (a) employers conducting right to work checks and (b) landlords conducting rent checks are aware that (i) a share code showing an impending expiration date is actually an EUSS pre-settled status and (ii) the expiry date shown is therefore incorrect and will be replaced with a new expiry date.

Robert Jenrick: The guidance for employers and landlords has been updated to explain that EUSS pre-settled status will be automatically extended before the original grant expires. The wording on the Home Office online checking service has also been updated to highlight the extension of pre-settled status. Therefore, if a right to work or right to rent check shows that a person is approaching the expiry date of their pre-settled status, employers and landlords will be aware, from the updated guidance and the updated wording on the online checking services, that a person’s pre-settled status will be extended. Once a person’s pre-settled status has been extended, the new expiry date will be reflected on the Home Office online checking services.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Housing: Stairs

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Written Statement of 24 October 2023 on Building Safety Update, UIN HCWS1090, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes to Approved Document B on second staircase design on the delivery of new homes.

Lee Rowley: The Written Statement confirms the government’s intended transitional arrangements as we make a gradual evolution of safety standards in the built environment. These arrangements will ensure there is minimal impact on housing supply; should help secure the viability of projects that are already underway and avoid delays.  They have been designed with engagement from the construction industry and other stakeholders. Policy implementation will continue to follow due process with design details and impact analysis published as soon as possible.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Civil Servants

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference the 3,190 total headcount figure for permanent civil servants excluding agency workers working for his Department as of 31 March 2023, as detailed in Cabinet Office statistics entitled Permanent and temporary civil servants by sex, age band and department: 2023, published on 31 October 2023, what that figure was on 31 March (a) 2011, (b) 2016 and (c) 2020.

Ms Anum Qaisar: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what proportion of civil servants in his Department who are (a) graded as senior civil servant 2 and (b) on full-time equivalent contracts are women.

Ms Anum Qaisar: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what proportion of civil servants who are on temporary contracts in his Department are women.

Jacob Young: Information on the department’s workforce size is published routinely each year as part of the Civil Service Annual Workforce Statistics. Information for each of the years in question can be found at the following link.As of 31st October 2023, 58% of this Department’s Civil Servants who are employed on temporary contracts are women.

Department for Business and Trade

Department for Business and Trade: Civil Servants

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to Cabinet Office statistics on Permanent and temporary civil servants by sex, age band and department: 2023, published on 31 October 2023, how many permanent civil servants excluding agencies worked for her Department on 31 October 2023.

Greg Hands: The Department for Business and Trade is a newly formed Department established in February 2023. The new department absorbed the functions of the former Department for International Trade (DIT) and some of the functions of the former Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). On 31 October 2023 the Department for Business and Trade comprised 5,411 permanent civil servants, excluding Agencies. The Department for Business and Trade is a newly formed Department established in February 2023. The new department absorbed the functions of the former Department for International Trade (DIT) and some of the functions of the former Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Department for Business and Trade: Civil Servants

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to Cabinet Office statistics on Permanent and temporary civil servants by sex, age band and department: 2023, published on 31 October 2023, how many permanent civil servants excluding agencies worked for (a) her Department on 31 March 2020 and (b) its predecessor departments in (i) 2011 and (ii) 2016.

Greg Hands: On 31 March 2020 the Department for International Trade had a headcount of 2,300 permanent civil servants, excluding Agencies. The Department for International Trade was created in July 2016 following the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union. The earliest published headcount was 920 permanent civil servants in December 2016.

Fireworks: Crime

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help support the police to tackle the use of illegal fireworks.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Department works with local authorities, the Police, Border Force and Trading Standards to tackle the import or sale of fireworks illegally in the UK.Enforcement mechanisms are in place to tackle situations when fireworks are misused and penalties for many fireworks-related offences can include imprisonment or an unlimited fine.

Aviation: Hydrogen

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to engage with tier 2 suppliers developing new hydrogen technology for the aviation sector.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department for Business and Trade is investing £685m through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme to co-fund the development of zero-carbon and ultra-efficient aircraft technology and cross-cutting enablers. This includes collaborative R&D projects to develop new hydrogen technologies. We are funding the ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network Phase 0 project to explore the operating model for open access facilities to accelerate the development of liquid hydrogen aircraft technologies and capabilities. As part of the Jet Zero Council, a Zero Emission Flight Delivery Group is advising on how government and industry can work together to accelerate the adoption of zero emission flight.

Construction: Cement

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether it is her Department's policy to mandate the use of low-carbon cement in future construction projects.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department for Business and Trade works with the construction sector to support decarbonisation and achieving Government’s net zero targets. This support includes increased delivery of energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation, the use of lower carbon materials and products such as cement and concrete, and tools to help the sector manage carbon and understand whole life carbon considerations of infrastructure and the built environment. The approach on what materials and products, including lower carbon materials, could be used in construction projects is agnostic, and will be dependent on the type of infrastructure or built environment structure being constructed.

Cabinet Office

Crown Hosting Data Centres

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the impact of the establishment of Crown Hosting Data Centres on the cost of data centre services for the Government in the last 12 months.

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the changes to energy usage by the Government as a result of the use of Crown Hosting Data Centres.

Alex Burghart: Commercial benefit, as assessed by the Crown Commercial Service using third party market intelligence, shows that existing Government organisations save 51% by using Crown Hosting Data Centres.On relocation of their back-office IT infrastructure to Crown Hosting, Government organisations typically save 75% of their costs, when comparing before and after relocation. Savings are made through a combination of energy efficiency and economy of scale of Crown Hosting.Using data reported by the EU Resource Efficiency Coordination Action (EURECA) 2018 study, Crown Hosting reduces electricity consumption by approximately 300% compared to the average public sector data centre.

King Charles III: Art Works

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether an official portrait has been commissioned following the Coronation of His Majesty The King.

Alex Burghart: As is usual practice, an Official Portrait has been taken of His Majesty The King to mark the start of the new Reign, for use in public buildings and for other official purposes. The portrait has been commissioned by the Royal Household and will be published by them in due course. His Majesty’s Government will provide this portrait for the Official Portrait Scheme, announced by the Deputy Prime Minister in April this year. The scheme opened earlier this month and enables certain Public Authorities across the UK to obtain a free, framed official portrait of His Majesty The King for display in their buildings.

Cabinet Office: Theft

Sarah Olney: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what data their Department holds on the (a) number and (b) total cost of replacing (i) laptops, (ii) mobile phones, (iii) memory sticks and (iv) external hard drives that have been (A) lost and (B) stolen in the last year.

Alex Burghart: The Cabinet Office provides laptops and mobile phones to over 10,000 users in 2023-24. The Cabinet Office supplies fully security encrypted mobiles and laptops. We do not issue memory sticks or external drives. There are occasional incidents where equipment is reported lost or stolen. Staff are required to report such incidents, and cases are investigated. Any loss is unfortunate and should be avoided, but invariably reflects that such devices may need to be taken out of a workplace environment. The following table includes the numbers and costs related to the lost/stolen devices.  LaptopsMobile PhonesMemory SticksExternal Data DrivesNumber Lost28108N/AN/ACost of Lost Replacement£23,911.20*£40,280*N/AN/ANumber Stolen2110N/AN/ACost of Stolen Replacement£23,010.52*£3,585*N/AN/A*Some devices not approved for replacement Given steps taken to secure information, we do not believe there has been any data loss or compromise as a result of these losses.

Government Departments: Data Protection

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of cross-departmental implementation of the Government Cloud First policy.

Alex Burghart: The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), in the Cabinet Office, is responsible for the Government’s Cloud strategy and for advising government departments on Cloud.CDDO has a quarterly data commissioning process that collects metrics across a number of strategic areas including cloud adoption. Central government organisations report their estimated percentage of technology assets hosted on cloud. Further to this, CDDO operates the Quarterly Business Review, a joint Cabinet Office-HM Treasury assurance review of departmental delivery that allows CDDO to query departmental progress on implementing cloud first adoption.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when does he expect the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report to be published.

Alex Burghart: The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is a statutory Inquiry established under the Inquiries Act 2005. Under the terms of the Act, the drafting of an inquiry final report and the timing of that process are both matters for the independent Chair of the inquiry.In their April 2023 Newsletter published on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry website at https://www.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk/news/april-2023-newsletter, the Inquiry recognised the desire for the report to be published as soon as possible.They noted that ‘The Inquiry hopes to complete the drafting of the report before the end of 2023. Various practical steps will then need to follow, such as proof-reading, typesetting and printing, all of which take time. We shall send the report to the Prime Minister, as required by our terms of reference, as soon as we can but that will probably not be possible before the beginning of next year.’

Cabinet Office: Civil Servants

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference his Department's statistics on Permanent and temporary civil servants by sex, age band and department: 2023, published on 31 October 2023, how many permanent civil servants excluding agencies worked for his Department on 31 March (a) 2011, (b) 2016 and (c) 2020.

John Glen: On 2 October 2023, the Chancellor announced an immediate cap on civil servant headcount across Whitehall to stop any further expansion, increase efficiencies and boost productivity. The Civil Service grew in size to manage the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the illegal war in the Ukraine but it is right that we reduce the size of the Civil Service over time as we drive up productivity and deliver efficiencies. As part of this Government’s commitment to transparency, my Department publishes workforce statistics each month. Information about staffing levels since 2006 are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/payroll-costs-and-non-consolidated-pay-data The data requested can be found at the following links (a) March 2020, table 8(b) March 2016, table 8(c) March 2011, table 8

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Energy: Conservation

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if her Department will publish guidance to inform businesses about the measures that can be taken to ensure they comply with the forthcoming minimum energy efficiency standards; and whether her Department plans to make support available to help them achieve those requirements.

Graham Stuart: The Government has guidance on gov.uk advising landlords on the measures and steps to comply with current non-domestic minimum energy efficiency standards. The Government recently launched a campaign to inform businesses of available support and to help reduce their energy consumption and in the West Midlands have launched an audit and grant pilot for small businesses. For future regulation options the policy design is being reviewed to ensure it remains fair and proportionate for landlords and tenants and to help realise the benefits of energy efficiency. The Government is considering what support and guidance may be required.

Construction: Carbon Emissions

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an assessment of the (a) role and (b) limitations of carbon capture and storage in supporting broader efforts to decarbonise the construction sector.

Graham Stuart: Industrial carbon capture and storage use will play a crucial role in deep decarbonisation of heavy industries that would otherwise have no alternative to decarbonise, including in the construction sector. CCUS is the only viable solution for addressing process emissions, such as from cement production. The Hanson Padeswood Cement Works and Buxton Lime Net Zero projects were selected as two of the eight projects to move to negotiations as part of our Track-1 Project Negotiation List. The Department for Business and Trade is working with the construction sector through the Construction Leadership Council, with a key priority being net zero and biodiversity, to support decarbonisation in the sector.

Nuclear Reactors: National Policy Statements

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the impact of national policy statements on new nuclear small and advanced modular reactors.

Andrew Bowie: As a first step towards developing the new nuclear NPS, we will consult later this year (2023) on a proposed way forward for determining how new nuclear developments might be located, including the potential for deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and other advanced nuclear technologies.

Nuclear Reactors: Planning Permission

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the planning system for facilitating the building of new small and advanced modular reactors.

Andrew Bowie: As a first step towards developing the new nuclear National Policy Statement, we will consult later this year (2023) on a proposed way forward for determining how new nuclear developments might be located, including the potential for deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and other advanced nuclear technologies.

Heat Pumps

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the cost effectiveness of ground source heat pump energy production in (a) the UK and (b) North Yorkshire.

Graham Stuart: The Department has conducted and published research on the cost effectiveness of heat pump technology, including ground source heat pumps, such as the ‘Cost of installing heating measures in domestic properties’ report available here. Research indicates ground source heat pumps are a highly efficient, mature technology capable of decarbonising heating in many UK homes.

Heat Pumps

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department plans to (a) scope and (b) scale the production of energy through ground source heat pump technology.

Graham Stuart: The Government is implementing a range of measures to support and scale up the market for heat pumps, including ground source heat pump technology. This includes grants of £7,500 for new heat pump installations under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, and investment in training and manufacturing to support the growth of the heat pump supply chain. The Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installation Database indicates that, across the UK, over 30,800 certified ground source heat pumps have been installed since 2009. The database does not include all heat pump installations, for example, those installed without Government funding support, such as in new buildings.

Heat Pumps

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential risks of generating ground source heat pump energy; and what plans she has to mitigate these.

Graham Stuart: Ground-source heat pumps are a mature technology that provide efficient, low carbon heating to buildings. Any risks associated with their deployment and use are managed through Building Regulations, and environmental permitting administered by the Environment Agency.

Heat Pumps

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what funding her Department plans to provide for research on (a) ground source heat pump technology and (b) good practice in the (i) extraction, (ii) conservation and (iii) distribution of energy produced by such technology.

Graham Stuart: The Department carries out a range of research to inform the evidence base to meet Net Zero policy aims. Future research may include assessment of ground-source heat pumps amongst other technologies to deliver the transition to low carbon heating. Good practice guidance is available for extraction and the efficient distribution of energy using the technology.

Heat Pumps: Carbon Emissions

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of the potential carbon cost of ground source heat energy production.

Graham Stuart: The Department has conducted analysis on the carbon impacts of a range of heating technologies. Heat pumps – including ground source heat pumps – can currently reduce carbon emissions by around 60% or more compared to a gas boiler and this will increase as the power sector decarbonises.

Renewable Energy: Finance

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how her Department plans to take into account changes in the level of costs when setting the Administrative Strike Price for renewable technologies in Allocation Round 6 of the Contracts for Difference.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a 50% increase in Administrative Strike Prices; and whether an increase in those Prices applies to all renewable technologies in Allocation Round 6.

Graham Stuart: The Government reviews auction parameters, including Administrative Strike Prices, ahead of every Contracts for Difference allocation round. Considering recent price volatility and that no offshore wind technologies were successful in Allocation Round 5, the Government has conducted a thorough review of its cost assumptions ahead of Allocation Round 6. The Government will set parameters that reflect the Contracts for Difference scheme’s objective to encourage low-carbon generation whilst considering net zero commitments, energy security and the likely cost to consumers. Core parameters for Allocation Round 6 will be published in November 2023.

Carbon Emissions: Finance

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of weighting net zero grants towards (a) levels of deprivation and (b) carbon emissions reduction potential.

Graham Stuart: The Government takes scheme design into careful consideration. All schemes are designed with reference to the Green Book. The Government takes its Public Sector Equality Duty requirements extremely seriously and has a range of grant schemes that support decarbonisation efforts for citizens across the country. This includes the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, and the £10m Community Energy Fund, which will enable both rural and urban communities across England to access grant funding to develop local renewable energy projects for investment.

Electricians

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has held recent discussions with (a) electricians and (b) electrical contracting firms on trends in the level of demand for electrical skills.

Graham Stuart: Ministers meet regularly with external stakeholders to discuss a wide range of issues.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Theft

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what data their Department holds on the (a) number and (b) total cost of replacing (i) laptops, (ii) mobile phones, (iii) memory sticks and (iv) external hard drives that have been (A) lost and (B) stolen in the last year.

Graham Stuart: Between 7th February 2023, when the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) was formed, to 10th November 2023, records show the following devices were reported lost or stolen.  (A) Lost(B) StolenReplacement Cost(i) Laptop148£19,250 (£875 unit)(ii) Mobile Phone766£29,110 (£355 unit) DESNZ has a policy for the controlled use of memory sticks and external hard drives. These are only permitted with a valid and approved business case and using authorised, hardware encrypted devices. Once approved, individual Directorates are responsible for controlling the memory sticks and external hard drives, therefore no figures on loss are held centrally.

Housing: Insulation

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to encourage private landlords to retrofit their properties to increase insulation.

Graham Stuart: The Government is spending £6bn this Parliament and a further £6bn to 2028 on making buildings cleaner and warmer, in addition to £5bn to be delivered through the Energy Company Obligation and the Great British Insulation Scheme up to March 2026. Last year the Government introduced a zero-rate of VAT for five years on energy saving measures and low-carbon heating, making it cheaper for people to invest in their properties and reduce energy usage. A brand-new eligibility tool was launched on the ‘Help for Households’ GOV.UK page that will help people find the support available to them via the Home Upgrade Grant and the Great British Insulation Scheme.

Local Government: Carbon Emissions

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of inflation rates on the ability of grants awarded to local authorities for net zero purposes to deliver intended outcomes.

Graham Stuart: The Government monitors the impact of inflation to ensure that its legal commitments are met, while setting out a proportionate, pragmatic approach to delivering net zero that reduces the costs and burdens on British families. The cost effectiveness of all relevant schemes are monitored and scheme statistics are regularly published on gov.uk.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Civil Servants

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to Cabinet Office statistics on Permanent and temporary civil servants by sex, age band and department: 2023, published on 31 October 2023, how many permanent civil servants excluding agencies worked for her Department on 31 October 2023.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero had 4248 permanent civil servants recorded in the department on the 31 October 2023.

Energy: Conservation

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when her Department plans to respond to its consultation on minimum energy efficiency standards for the non-domestic private rented sector.

Graham Stuart: The Government has reviewed the responses to its consultations on minimum energy efficiency standards in the non-domestic private rented sector. The policy design is being reviewed to ensure it remains fair and proportionate for landlords and tenants and to help realise the benefits to businesses of reduced energy bills, more comfortable and healthier workplaces and greater energy security. The Government is engaging with commercial building owners and representative groups to understand the different pathways to support decarbonisation and give certainty to the energy efficiency supply chain. The response will be published in due course.

Business Premises: Energy Performance Certificates

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether non-domestic privately rented properties will be required to have an EPC rating of C by April 2027.

Graham Stuart: The Government consulted on strengthening the existing regulations to require non-domestic private rented buildings to reach the highest EPC that a cost-effective package of measures can deliver up to EPC C by April 2027 and EPC B by April 2030. The policy design and timelines are being reviewed to ensure they remain fair and proportionate for landlords and tenants and to help realise the benefits of energy efficiency. The Government is engaging with stakeholders on the different pathways to support decarbonisation and to give certainty to the supply chain. A response will be published in due course.

Business: Carbon Emissions

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress the Government is making on setting out sector-specific net zero transition plan guidance to support companies preparing their own transition plans.

Graham Stuart: During the UK's COP26 Presidency, the Government launched the Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT). The TPT was tasked with developing guidance for good practice transition plans. Their disclosure framework was published in October, and they will consult on detailed sector guidance in November. As part of implementing the Green Finance Strategy, the Government is planning to consult in due course on how the UK’s largest companies can effectively disclose their transition plans, if they have one. Additionally, the Net Zero Council, which brings together CEOs from leading companies including Co-op, HSBC, Siemens and Cemex, has developed a framework to help businesses to create tailored sector decarbonisation roadmaps.

Ayrton Fund

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much funding has been allocated to clean energy research, development and demonstration projects from the Ayrton Fund as of 8 November 2023.

Graham Stuart: The UK Government has committed up to £1 billion for the Ayrton Fund to support the research, development, and demonstration of clean energy innovations for developing countries, between April 2021 and March 2026, delivered via a portfolio managed by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Departments for Energy Security and Net Zero and for Science, Innovation and Technology. As of 8 November 2023, Ayrton funding of £595 million has been approved and allocated to 29 programmes. The Departments are working on the design of further new and scaled-up programmes, including some expected to be announced at COP28 in December.

Ayrton Fund

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to her Department's published guidance on the Ayrton Fund, how much funding was allocated to each of the 23 RD&D projects that that fund supported in its first two years.

Graham Stuart: In its first two years (April 2021 to March 2023) the UK Government spent £146 million through the 23 Ayrton Fund programmes, listed on the Gov.uk website, delivering international clean energy research, development, and demonstration.

Energy Company Obligation

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many ECO 4 installations were undertaken in (a) the UK and (b) North Shropshire constituency in the last 12 months.

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of trends in the number of ECO 4 installations undertaken in (a) the UK and (b) North Shropshire constituency in the last 12 months.

Graham Stuart: ECO4 is the latest iteration of the Energy Company Obligation scheme which installs energy efficiency measures in households within Great Britain only. Over the 12 months to the end of June 2023 (the latest available data by parliamentary constituency), there were around 143,500 ECO4 measures installed in Great Britain and 242 measures installed in North Shropshire constituency. Over this period, the number of ECO4 installations has generally increased in both Great Britain and North Shropshire constituency.

Women and Equalities

Women and Equalities: Theft

Sarah Olney: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what data her Department holds on the (a) number and (b) total cost of replacing (i) laptops, (ii) mobile phones, (iii) memory sticks and (iv) external hard drives that have been (A) lost and (B) stolen in the last year.

Maria Caulfield: For management and staffing purposes, the Equality Hub is an integrated part of the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office provides laptops and mobile phones to over 10,000 users in 2023-24. The Cabinet Office supplies fully security encrypted mobiles and laptops. We do not issue memory sticks or external drives.There are occasional incidents where equipment is reported lost or stolen. Staff are required to report such incidents, and cases are investigated. Any loss is unfortunate and should be avoided, but invariably reflects that such devices may be taken out of a workplace environment.The following table includes the numbers and costs related to the lost/stolen devices for the Cabinet Office as a whole.  LaptopsMobile PhonesMemory SticksExternal Data DrivesNumber Lost28108N/AN/ACost of Lost Replacement£23,911.20*£40,280*N/AN/ANumber Stolen2110N/AN/ACost of Stolen Replacement£23,010.52*£3,585*N/AN/A*Some devices not approved for replacement Given steps taken to secure information, we do not believe there has been any data loss or compromise as a result of these losses.

Department for Transport

Department for Transport: Civil Servants

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Cabinet Office statistics on Permanent and temporary civil servants by sex, age band and department: 2023, published on 31 October 2023; how many permanent civil servants other than those working in agencies worked for his Department on 31 March (a) 2011, (b) 2016 and (c) 2020.

Anthony Browne: The headcount for permanent civil servants working for the core Department for Transport in March 2011 was 1822, in March 2016 it was 2065, and in March 2020 it was 2937.The full data sets are published on gov.uk under DfT workforce management information.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that V11 reminder forms are (a) sent on time and (b) not sent in duplicate.

Guy Opperman: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) issues more than two million V11s reminders each month.Non-delivery of the reminder can be caused by a variety of reasons, including instances such as the vehicle keeper moving house and failing to advise the DVLA of their new address. However, it remains the responsibility of the vehicle keeper to ensure their vehicle is properly licensed or subject to an off road notification. The DVLA has processes in place to mitigate against the possibility of duplicate V11s being issued.

Local Transport Plans

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's planned timetable is for the publication of new statutory guidance on the preparation of local transport plans.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Transport is considering next steps on this matter in the light of the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement, which represents a significant change in the Government’s funding of local transport schemes, and will make an announcement in due course.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Post Offices

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of removing DVLA services from the Post Office in March 2024 on (a) elderly people and (b) people without internet access.

Guy Opperman: Post Office Ltd currently provides a limited range of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) services and an extension to the current contract has been agreed, ensuring that DVLA services will be available at post offices until the end of March 2024. The DVLA wants its customers to be able to access its services as quickly and as easily as possible and the role of front office counter services will form part of the considerations of future service offerings, utilising government agreements if necessary. The vast majority of those licensing vehicles already do so online or via the DVLA’s automated telephone service, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The DVLA will continue to ensure that all customers are able to license their vehicles.

Bus Services: Midlands and the North of England

Jane Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the policy paper entitled Network North, published on 4 October 2023, whether the £150 million funding for improving bus services in (a) northern England and (b) the midlands (i) is ringfenced and (ii) can be used by local authorities to fund bus routes which were commercially viable before the covid-19 pandemic but are no longer.

Guy Opperman: The new £1 billion Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding for buses in the North and the Midlands, announced on 4 October, will continue and expand the improvements started by the £1.2 billion for BSIPs announced in 2022 and 2023. The first downpayment of £150 million has been indicatively allocated for 2024-25. The new funding can be used in the same way as existing BSIP funding. LTAs may use the funding to deliver the interventions that they and local operators, where they have an Enhanced Partnership, expect will deliver the best outcomes for passengers. Further details on the terms of funding will follow in due course.

Road Traffic Act 1988

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 21 September 2022 to Question 48313, when his Department plans to launch a call for evidence on the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Guy Opperman: We are still considering the details and timings of the planned call for evidence on motoring offences. The intention is to publish it in due course.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to increase the availability of electric vehicle charging infrastructure for use by the logistics and warehousing sector.

Anthony Browne: The Government is working with fleets and industry bodies to understand the diverse charging requirements of fleets, including those used by the logistics and warehousing sector. Through its Workplace Charging Scheme, the Government offers support to small and medium sized business for the installation of chargepoints, with grants of up to £350 per socket. As of 1 July 2023, 46,172 workplace installations have benefited from this scheme. The Government is also working with industry stakeholders to develop a zero emission HGV and coach infrastructure strategy for publication in 2024. The strategy will set strategic direction and outline the roles and responsibilities of government and industry to deliver the refuelling and recharging infrastructure required to meet the end of sale dates for new non-zero emission HGVs.

Ministry of Defence

Falkland Islands: Military Aircraft

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many RAF (a) transport and (b) air-to-air refuelling aircraft have been stationed on the Falkland Islands in each year since 2010.

James Heappey: Between 2010 and 2023 inclusive there has been one transport and one air-to-air refuelling aircraft permanently assigned to the Falkland Islands.

Falkland Islands: Typhoon Aircraft

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many RAF Typhoons have been stationed in the Falkland Islands in each year since 2010.

James Heappey: In each year between 2010 and 2023 inclusive there have been four RAF Typhoon aircraft permanently stationed in the Falkland Islands.

Falkland Islands: Helicopters

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many military helicopters by type of rotorcraft have been stationed on the Falkland Islands in each year since 2010.

James Heappey: There have been no military helicopters based in the Falkland Islands during the period in question.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps is he taking to support the humanitarian effort in Gaza.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for the Royal Navy to support the humanitarian response in Gaza.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Armed Forces have the capability to supply Gaza with desalinated water.

James Heappey: The Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) is coordinating the UK’s humanitarian response to deliver lifesaving assistance through trusted partners, including the UN, to the people who need it in Gaza. The Ministry of Defence has provided military support when needed to facilitate the FCDO’s response. As of 13 November, three RAF flights have delivered a total of 51 tonnes of aid to Egypt. The shipments contained lifesaving items, including water purification equipment. Royal Navy assets are in the region, and have the ability to support the humanitarian effort when the opportunity arises. We continue to monitor the situation and consider what further assistance Defence could contribute to the UK and international efforts to ease the humanitarian crisis.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Afghan people are in the process of being relocated to the UK from Pakistan by his Department as of 8 November 2023; and under what schemes those relocations are taking place.

James Heappey: As the Minister for Veterans Affairs stated in the House on November 8, the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) plan is to relocate approximately 2,800 Afghans eligible under the Afghan Relocation and Resettlement Policy scheme (ARAP) to the UK by the end of December. Of these, 662 have already safely been relocated to the UK. The MOD oversees ARAP relocations from Pakistan to the UK, working in partnership with other departments. For the separate Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, flights and travel assistance are arranged by the Home Office and its partners, including the International Organization for Migration.

Afghanistan: Refugees

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme principals his Department has wrongly assessed as eligible.

James Heappey: ARAP eligibility decisions are made in accordance with our published ARAP policy, which is set out in the Immigration Rules. Checks and balances are in place to mitigate the risk of any errors. Across more than 95,000 unique ARAP applications and many more duplications, a very small number of cases received eligibility decisions which have been incorrect and needed to be revoked.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) direct and (b) indirect UK jobs are being supported by funding from the International Fund for Ukraine.

James Heappey: I refer the right hon. Member to my written answer to Question 203993 of 26 October 2023.Ukraine: Military Aid (docx, 23.7KB)

Falkland Islands: Defence

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent in (a) resource departmental expenditure limit (RDEL) and (b) capital departmental expenditure limit (CDEL) on protecting the Falkland Islands in each year since 2010.

James Heappey: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Military Attachés

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which countries do not have a resident UK Defence Attache.

James Heappey: The table below has a list of countries covered on a Non-Residential Accreditations (NRA) basis, where a UK Defence Attaché (DA) is not resident in country, but a DA elsewhere has the responsibility. This ensures that we have coverage across the world’s regions.  Country (NRA)Location of DAAngolaPretoria – South AfricaAnguillaJamaica - KingstonAntigua & BarbuaJamaica - KingstonArmeniaGeorgia – TbilisiAzerbaijanGeorgia – TbilisiBahamasJamaica - KingstonBarbadosJamaica - KingstonBelarusUkraine – KyivBelizeJamaica - KingstonBeninAccra - GhanaBermudaUSA – Washington DCBoliviaUK – LondonBotswanaHarare - ZimbabweBritish Virgin IslandsJamaica - KingstonBurkina FasoGhana - AccraBurundiUganda – KampalaCambodiaSingaporeCape Verde IslandsUK-LondonCayman IslandsJamaica – KingstonCongoUK - LondonCubaMexico – Mexico CityDjiboutiEthiopia – Addis AbabaDominica Dominican RepublicJamaica - KingstonDemocratic Republic of the CongoKampala - UgandaEritreaSana’a - YemenEcuadorBogota - ColombiaGabonLondonGrenadaJamaica - KingstonGuineaSierra Leone – FreetownGuyanaJamaica - KingstonGuatemalaMexico – Mexico CityGuinea-BissauSenegal - DakarHaitiJamaica - KingstonHungaryCroatia - ZagrebIcelandNorway - OsloIvory CoastGhana – AccraKhartoumEgypt - CairoKosovoMacedonia - SkopjeKyrgyzstanKazakhstan – AstanaLesothoSouth Africa - PretoriaLiberiaSierra Leone - FreetownLibyaLibya - TripoliMalawiZimbabwe – HarareMaltaRomeMauritaniaMorocco – RabatMonacoFrance – ParisMongoliaJapan – TokyoMontenegroTirana – AlbaniaMyanmarSingapore (BDS SEA)MontserratJamaica - KingstonMozambiqueSouth Africa – PretoriaPanama CityPuerto RicoNamibiaSouth Africa – PretoriaNigerMali - BamakoPapua New GuineaAustralia – CanberraParaguayArgentina – Buenos AiresPeruColombia - BogotaRwandaUganda – KampalaSeychellesKenya - NairobiSt Kitts & NevisJamaica - KingstonSt LuciaJamaica - KingstonSt VincentJamaica - KingstonSlovakiaCzech Rep - PragueSloveniaAustria – ViennaSomalilandMogadishu, SomaliaSouth SudanAddis Ababa – EthiopiaSwitzerlandVienna - AustriaSyriaLebanonTajikistanKazakhstan – AstanaTanzaniaKenya – NairobiThe GambiaSenegal - DakarTimor-Leste (East Timor)Indonesia - JakartaTogoGhana – AccraTongaFiji – SuvaTrinidad & TobagoJamaica - KingstonTurkmenistanUzbekistan - TashkentTurks & Caicos IslandsJamaica - KingstonUruguayArgentina - Buenos AiresVanuatuFiji – SuvaVenezuelaBogota - ColombiaZambiaZimbabwe - Harare

Military Attachés

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK Defence Attaches were stationed in (a) the Indo-Pacific, (b) the Middle East, (c) North Africa and (d) the Sahel regions in each year since 2010.

James Heappey: This information is not held centrally, and it has not been possible to obtain it in the time available. I will write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Falkland Islands: Armoured Fighting Vehicles

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) armoured fighting vehicles, (b) infantry fighting vehicles and (c) protected mobility vehicles were stationed on the Falkland Islands in each year since 2010.

James Heappey: There have been no armoured fighting vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles or protected mobility vehicles stationed in the Falkland Islands in this period.

Department for Work and Pensions

Department for Work and Pensions: Theft

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data their Department holds on the (a) number and (b) total cost of replacing (i) laptops, (ii) mobile phones, (iii) memory sticks and (iv) external hard drives that have been (A) lost and (B) stolen in the last year.

Paul Maynard: The following table includes the number of lost or stolen devices in DWP in the last year. Departmental recording systems do not differentiate between lost and stolen, therefore these numbers have been amalgamated.  Typea) Number lost/stolenb) Costi) Laptops94 items£78,014.13ii) Mobile phones24 items£10,800.00iii) Memory sticks6 items£00.00iv) External hard drivesZero items£00.00 All departmental IT is fully security encrypted. Memory sticks are also fully encrypted, and no data is accessible on a lost stick. The departmental security unit records and investigates each reported loss from the Department. If appropriate, the police are invited to undertake further inquiries. Any mobile device reported as lost is immediately and remotely deactivated and the contents deleted. The user account on any laptop reported as lost is immediately and remotely locked. There has been no data loss or compromise because of these losses.

Attorney General

Crown Prosecution Service: Stonewall

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Attorney General, how many times the Crown Prosecution Service met Stonewall in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023 to 8 November.

Michael Tomlinson: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold a central record of local meetings with stakeholders across all 14 CPS Areas and Central Casework Divisions.At a national headquarters level, the CPS met with Stonewall three times in 2023 in the context of national forums on hate crime, where a broad range of other external stakeholders were also in attendance. There were no meetings with Stonewall at a national level in 2022.

Attorney General: Theft

Sarah Olney: To ask the Attorney General, what data their Department holds on the (a) number and (b) total cost of replacing (i) laptops, (ii) mobile phones, (iii) memory sticks and (iv) external hard drives that have been (A) lost and (B) stolen in the last year.

Michael Tomlinson: The Attorney General’s Office has not had any laptops, mobile phones, memory sticks or external hard drives lost or stolen in the last year.